


All About Time and Place

by MrsEclipse9856



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Female James T. Kirk, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Tarsus IV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-15
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-25 11:04:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2619434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsEclipse9856/pseuds/MrsEclipse9856
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone you meet changes your life. Some in small ways and others in bigger ways, its all about time and place. What if Harrison had been on Tarsus Four like his file says?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"By now all of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet data archive, now it's a damn hole in the ground. Forty-two men and women are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet officer who confessed to carrying out this attack, that he was being forced to do it by this man." Admiral Marcus told them before a holo popped up on the screen in front of all the officers in the room. Jamie knew that face.

The admiral continued, "Commander John Harrison. He's one of our own and he is the man responsible for this act of savagery. For reasons unknown, John Harrison has just declared a one man war against Starfleet and under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here tonight represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region. And in the name of those we lost, you will run this bastard down. This is a manhunt, pure and simple, so let's get to work."

There was a moment's pause, Jamie couldn't –and didn't- believe what Admiral Marcus was saying. Something just wasn't right about any of this. Harrison was a lot of things but he wasn't a terrorist.

"Earth's Perimeter sensors have not detected any warp signatures leaving the system, so we know he can't be far. You will park your ships in a blockade formation and deploy search vehicles and landing parties to run down every lead. This man has shown willingness to kill innocent people, so the rules of engagement are simple. If you come across this man, and fear for your life and the live of those nearby, you are authorized to use deadly force on the subject."

The big question is why Marcus wants to kill him. Marcus doesn't want to talk to Harrison, he wants them to kill him. Jamie was going to be the only one Harrison's side, just like he'd always been on hers.

* * *

Stardate 2246.115 (April 25th, 2246)  
Tarsus Four Colony

_"The revolution is successful, but survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."_

Jamie looked over at John, who nodded. The pair of them, with Tommy and Percy, began pulling children out of the square as Kodos' men began shooting. People that they've all seen every day were dropping left and right. "Kevin!"

The six-year-old ran into Jamie's arms, his father looked at her and nodded in what Jamie was sure was 'keep him safe' before he began fighting the enforcers closest to him. Mister Riley didn't last long but Jamie made sure his son didn't see what happened to him.

"Come on, Kev," she whispered to the little boy. The group of a dozen kids got themselves out of the main colony and joined with the other group that Jamie's brother, Sam, managed to round up.

"Your six, plus our eight and the five of us makes nineteen. What's the plan?" Tommy asked her brother. The answer was simple.

"Survive. For our families, for Hoshi, we gotta survive," Jamie whispered, more to herself than to anyone.

John put his hand on her shoulder, "We will make Kodos pay for this."

She nodded at him and went to sit in a corner of the cave. It wasn't fair, not even close. Her father was killed the day she was born, her mom was never around and her stepdad was a piece of work of the worst kind. Ending up on Tarsus Four was supposed to be the beginning of a good life.

She spent almost three years living here with her aunt and uncle, for the first few months she really only talked to her brother. Tommy was her first friend, she literally ran into him one day and he asked her to tag along on what turned into a really cool experiment with engineering equipment. John was friends with Sam, they were older than most of the kids but they never treated them like it. John even kept an eye on Jamie like it was his job, much to her annoyance at times. Percy's family moved to the colony a year after Jamie and Sam did.

The three young teens –and sometimes Sam and John- were always together and since they were ahead of their peers in school they all found sanctuary with Hoshi Sato. Commander Sato was a retired Starfleet officer who served with Admiral Jonathan Archer before the Federation was founded. She took them all under her wing but she paid special attention to Jamie as the only girl in their group.

When the crops started to die, Kodos decided that killing half the colony was the solution. Jamie's family and Hoshi didn't even live long enough to hear the speech, he had them executed in their homes. Jamie barely made it out of Hoshi's with her life and she went in search of her brother and her friends. John found her in her kitchen standing over her aunt and uncle's bodies. They grabbed any emergency gear and whatever food was there and made a break for Tommy and Percy's homes. Now, they were all in this cave with a small pile of food and a bunch of small children that might die anyway.

"This isn't your fault, Jamison." She looked up at John as he sat next to her. He always insisted on calling her by her full name. When anyone else said it, it annoyed the crap out of her but John always made it sound like a song. For a while she thought it was the British accent but she realized that it was just John.

Jamie smiled, "I know, Johnny. Doesn't mean that it doesn't suck."

He nodded, "Very true."

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
USS Enterprise, En Route to Qo'noS

"There's something else going on here, sir. I know Harrison, he would never kill innocent people. Marcus is up to something."

Pike looked at her, "You want me to believe that your friend is innocent but Admiral Marcus, the head of Starfleet, is guilty of… something. How am I supposed to explain that?"

She took a breath, "We capture him. Our orders are to shoot a bunch of torpedoes at the Klingons to kill one man. That doesn't seem odd to you? Whatever John knows, Marcus wants him eliminated and probably us too. I get it, I'm impulsive and I don't always follow orders but I'm usually right, even when I didn't want to be. If you have ever trusted me, trust me right now… sir."

Pike looked up at her from his desk in his ready room. "Fine, you can take a team down to the surface, grab him and get back."

Jamie nodded, "Thank you, sir."

Jamie walked out of the office, she grabbed Spock, the Enterprise's science officer and her former first officer, and Uhura, the ship's chief communications officer, and told them both to change out of their uniforms. Jamie _was_ the Captain of this ship but the brass didn't like her stance for doing things her way and saving lives over following regulations, so they demoted her to Commander and gave Admiral Pike command. She held her head high and she didn't apologize for saving the people of Nibiru despite it costing her command. The three officers made their way to the K'normian trade ship they confiscated a month earlier. Hendorff and Edwards, two of her security officers, sans the red shirts, went with them.

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Ketha Providence, Qo'noS

"What the hell was that?" Jamie was flying the ship when they were hit.

"We are being pursued by a D4 Class Klingon vessel," Spock informed her.

"I thought this sector was abandoned," she said to her friends.

Uhura spoke from her left side, "It must be a random patrol."

Jamie worked on maneuvering the vessel away from the Klingons, "Hold on!"

"This ship has no offensive capabilities." Spock told her. It really wasn't helping.

Jamie chuckled, "It's got us. Give me all six fuel cells." Jamie was using the extra power for maneuverability. She made the ship dip and dive to evade the Klingon's fire, "Dammit! It's still on us."

Uhura called out, "They are closing fast, bearing two-eight-five."

Jamie noticed a small fissure between two structures, "Right there! There! We can lose them there!"

"If you are suggesting that we utilize the passage between the approaching structures, this ship will not fit," Spock warned her.

Jamie chuckled, "We'll fit."

Spock continued to disagree with her, "Commander, we will not fit."

She kept going, "We'll fit! We'll fit!" She turned the small ship on a ninety degree angle, barely scraping through the gap, the Klingon vessel exploded as it hit the structure, and the team from the Enterprise sped through the buildings before finally emerging out from the other side. "I told you we'd fit."

Spock looked at her, "I am not sure that qualifies."

"Any sign of them?" Jamie asked Uhura.

The other officer scanned her console, "No, which worries me."

Jamie took a breath, "Maybe we lost them."

Uhura wasn't so sure, "Or they're jamming our scanners."

"Or we lost them," Jamie muttered. It was wishful thinking but that was all she had at this point.

Suddenly, they were stopped as four Klingon vessels surrounded them. Jamie spoke enough Klingon to understand that they were ordering the ship to land over their comms. Uhura stood from her seat, "Commander, they're gonna wanna know why we're here. And then they're gonna torture us, question us, and they're gonna kill us." Jamie knew that, it was a certainty at this point.

"Well, you're the one who speaks fluent Klingon. Wanna try talking to 'em?"

Uhura nodded at her question, "It would be best if I went alone, it'll appear less threatening."

Jamie nodded, "Roger that." Jamie landed their small ship.

Uhura took a deep breath before she disembarked, and walked towards the group of Klingons waiting for her, Jamie and Spock watched from inside the ship. "This isn't going to work," Jamie looked at Spock.

He kept watching Uhura as he spoke, "It is our only logical option. And if you interrupt her now, you will not only incur the wrath of the Klingons, but that of Lieutenant Uhura as well." Jamie chuckled, he had a point. They couldn't hear what was being said but Jamie knew that the whole thing could go sideways in a second. She grabbed a couple weapons and handed them to Lieutenants Hendorff and Edwards.

"Thanks, Commander," Edwards said to her, Jamie nodded and went back to her spot next to Spock.

It was fast, one second she's talking and the next a Klingon has Uhura by her face. Someone –Jamie could guess who- started shooting at the Klingons. The four officers still on the ship spilled out to cover Uhura and help the person who just saved her ass.

* * *

Spock pointed his weapon at the man, "Stand down!"

Harrison looked at him, "How many torpedoes?"

Spock was still pointing his weapon at Harrison, "Stand down!"

Harrison shot Spock's weapon out of his hand, "Your torpedoes! The weapons you threaten me within your message. How many are there?"

Jamie pushed herself off the wall, "Never known you to be this short tempered, Johnny."

The man looked at her, really looked, "Jamison. You're here."

"We were ordered to kill you, I talked my CO into a capture, instead. Wanna lower the rifle and tell me I didn't stick my neck out for nothing." She scanned him with her eyes and spotted no injuries. Jamie also noticed that he relaxed his stance a bit, he wasn't gonna hurt her.

John dropped the weapon at her feet, "I didn't do what Marcus is accusing me of. You must help me prove it."

"I will. Right now, we gotta get back to the ship. We're gonna have to cuff you and put you in the brig but I promise, we're gonna sort this out," she told him with a smile.

He nodded at her, "I have missed you, beautiful."

Jamie looked at him, "I missed you too, Johnny. Edwards, gimme the cuffs."

Her friend held his arms out for her to cuff him, "They didn't harm your friend, did they?"

She glanced at Uhura and shook her head, "Always fighting for some girl."

* * *

Stardate 2246.149 (May 29th, 2246)  
Tarsus Four Colony

"Jamison, go," John told her.

She shook her head and stood next to him, "Not without you, Johnny." They were on a 'mission' to find food, it wasn't the first, but it was the hardest. They managed to gather some food and medical supplies when one of the patrols came through. Sam and Tommy had made it out with everything but Jamie and John couldn't get clear without exposing the others. She knew it was gonna be a fight.

The enforcers were the all kinds of evil but the one that pinned her to a table was the worst. She knew what he was gonna do but it didn't make it better. She didn't scream, she didn't fight, she just closed her eyes and listened to John's voice as he fought with the others.

"Jamison, I'm so sorry," he told her when the enforcer finally finished with her and tossed her into John's arms.

She shook her head, "It's not your fault. Their evil is not your fault."

When the pair was dropped in front of Kodos, John had managed to grab a knife from one of the enforcers and stabbed her attacker in the neck. He was beaten half to death for it but Kodos seemed to enjoy the whole display.

"I knew you were worth sparing. I had hoped that you would work with me… but that's no matter. You two have been quite the little soldiers, maybe I have use for you," their governor said before he had the pair locked in a room. Jamie did what she could to patch John up.

"I should be taking care of you," he groaned.

She gave him a pained smile, "We'll just have to take care of each other."

He chuckled, "Sounds like a plan, beautiful."

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Brig, USS Enterprise, outside the Federation/Klingon Neutral Zone

"So he just surrendered to you, Jim? That doesn't seem odd?" Bones asked. Jamie shook her head at his question. The man was her best friend but like everyone else, there were some things he didn't know about her.

"No. It's not odd," Jamie whispered.

He looked at her, "So, he just took out a squadron of Klingons, single-handedly and then turned himself over to you. I think it's odd."

Jamie chuckled, "You're a cynic, Bones."

Pike looked at her, "What's your read, Kirk?"

She took a breath, "Something is going on and I think he's the distraction."

"Distraction for what?" Spock asked her.

Jamie shrugged, "I don't know, yet." The four officers walked right up to Harrison's cell.

Bones looked at him, "Put your arm through the hole, I'm gonna take a blood sample."

John complied with the doctor's request but he looked over his shoulder at Pike, "Am I to assume that the reason we aren't moving is because of an unexpected malfunction in the warp core, conveniently stranding this ship on the edge of the Klingon space?"

Bones looked at him, "How the hell do you know that?"

"I shouldn't be surprised that you figured it out, Johnny," Jamie said with a smirk.

He smiled at her, "I had a good engineering teacher."

She chuckled, "I wasn't that great."

Harrison smiled, "Ever so modest, Jamison."

Bones rolled his eyes, "Of course he's your friend." Jamie looked at him but she didn't respond; explaining John to Bones was not something she felt like doing right now.

John looked at the doctor before looking at Pike, "I think you'd find my insight valuable, Admiral."

Bones finished taking his sample and closed the hole in the glass. "We're good, I'll let you know what I find, sir."

Pike nodded at Bones, then looked at Harrison, "Okay, you said you have something to say, Harrison. Start talking."

"Two-three-one-seven-four-six-one-one. Coordinates not far from Earth. It's the location of the Io Facility where Admiral Marcus oversees Section 31 activities and has nearly completed construction on the Dreadnought-class starship the USS Vengeance _._ Sending the Enterprise here was part of the plan to start a war with the Klingon Empire," John paused. "I tried to stop him. I even sabotaged some of the new weapons he's been working on but I was discovered and I had to flee. The easiest way to catch me was to make everyone think I'm a traitor."

Bones huffed, "Aren't you?" Jamie glared at her friend.

Harrison chuckled, "It's a fair question, Jamison. To answer it, no, I'm not a traitor. I'm a Starfleet Intelligence Officer."

Pike, Spock and Bones all looked at Jamie, her CO stepped closer, "You knew this?"

Jamie nodded, "Yes, sir. I would've said something but I have orders not to burn him."

Bones looked at her, "Wait, you're SI?"

"I was. Short answer, we were recruited when we were younger and our training was different. You didn't really think that I just up and decided to join Starfleet at twenty-two? I've been an active SI operative since I was fifteen. I had to step away when I took command of this ship but my clearance is still active." Jamie knew she was gonna have to give them the whole story later.

Harrison smiled, "Been keeping tabs on me?"

She nodded, "Tell me you haven't done the same."

He shook his head, "I vowed to never lie to you."

* * *

Stardate 2246.168 (June 17th, 2246)  
Governor's House, Tarsus Four Colony

"Did you hear that?" Jamie looked at John. They had taken to sleeping in the corner wrapped around each other for warmth, taking turns sleeping.

"I did," he whispered. They both stood; neither had any idea of what was heading their way, the Starfleet officers certainly wasn't what they expected.

"Sir, I have two more," the taller officer said.

"Enforcers?" someone they couldn't see asked.

The officer in the room shook his head, "Kids, sir. Mid-teens if I had to guess. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Jason. Why don't we get you two out of here."

Jamie looked at John, "Do you think we can trust them? My track record with Starfleet isn't very good."

He nodded, "I think it'll be alright."

She stayed in her spot, behind him, "I don't know. Maybe Kodos is trying to trick us."

John took her face in his hands, "I think they are here to help, Jamison. I wouldn't lie to you. I swear." It turned out that they were real officers and they took the pair to their ship.

"The others?" she asked in the transporter room.

One of the officers smiled, "Already got the other kids. They're in medical."

Jamie's happiness at being discovered soon turned into heartbreak as she realized that her brother died mere hours before Starfleet arrived. She didn't even realize that she was crying until she felt John wrap his arms around her, "We will find Kodos. We will end him, Jamison. I swear it."

* * *

Stardate 2249.314 (November 9th 2249)  
Brighton Square, Planet Q

"I have visual on the hammer. Move in, Sif." Van's voice sounded in her ear.

Jamie ran across the rooftops, jumping when it became necessary. She reached the building she was supposed to use to get down, dropped a few feet before leaping from one ledge to another and through a window. She walked through the room she was in and out into the hall. Jamie moved in behind her target. She pulled the hypo-spray from her pocket and injected the man with the sedative; she kept walking while Harrison and Price caught him and walked him into a room.

"Thor and Hogan have the hammer. Volstagg and Fendral, you're up," she told the others over comms.

She didn't see it but she heard the jump ship as the two officers, Tala'nos and Vans, took the man from the John and Price. She was already out of the building and walking down the street when she felt an arm over her shoulder.

"Thor and Sif moving to evac point," John said into hiss comm.

Jamie looked at him and smiled, "You told me we'd get him."

He nodded, "Indeed, I did. He's going to spend the rest of his life paying for what he did. Come, we have to get out of here." They got to the shuttle port and boarded a transport that would take them to Alpha Centauri where they would split up and separately head to different parts of Vulcan. From there they would each be picked up by a vessel under SI jurisdiction and dropped off at their home base. They didn't work a lot of missions together but this one was non-negotiable. They owed Kodos a lot worse then he got.

Stardate 2249.321 (November 16th, 2249)  
Classified Starfleet Intelligence Base, Codename: Asgard, Location: Unknown

"I figured that you would get back before me." Jamie looked up at the figure standing in her doorway. Their rooms on this base weren't very big and only had the basics but it was enough for Jamie.

She chuckled and nodded, "Well, I am prettier than you. Maybe that's why they pick me up first."

He laughed, "That is true, beautiful. It's almost unfair. Almost." She smiled as he walked into the room and laid down on her bed, "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

Jamie walked over to her bed, made him move over so she could lay with him and handed him her PADD, "I was gonna watch a movie. You can pick, if you want." He punched a few commands and one of the Bourne movies came on the vid-screen. "Really, John, a spy movie?"

He shrugged, "You said I could pick, this is my pick."

Jamie didn't really watch the movie, she watched John as he watched the movie. "You're staring."

She chuckled, "Maybe a little." He looked at her, his intense gray eyes locking with her blue, "John… I…" She leaned up and kissed him. At first, he didn't move then he kissed her back, the arm he had wrapped around her tightened and pulled her against him. His other hand tangled in her long, blonde hair. Jamie's hands held onto his shirt. This was like nothing she'd ever felt before, it was like he lit a fire along her skin. When they had to pull away to breathe, he pulled her on top of him and pressed kisses on her neck and along her jaw before bringing his lips to hers again.

"I know you're in there, Harrison," a voice called from her door.

They both groaned as they pulled away from each other and Jamie sighed, "I hate him, sometimes." Price was at her door, hitting the buzzer over and over again. She glanced in a mirror to make she didn't look too wound up and gave John a quick look before opening the door, "Where's the fire, Price?"

He chuckled and walked into her room like he owned the place, "Nowhere. I just like bugging you and Johnny-boy."

"Don't call me that," John growled at their friend. The nickname belonged to Jamie and John's mother.

Price looked at him, "She calls you Johnny."

Jamie shrugged, "I'm prettier than you."

John caught her eye and they both started to laugh, "She has a very valid point."

Price shook his head, "I see how it is."

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Brig, USS Enterprise, outside the Federation/Klingon Neutral Zone

Pike looked at Harrison, "I still don't get it."

"Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in a civilized time, but for that he needed a warriors mind, like mine and Jamison's, to design weapons and warships," John told them.

Spock looked at him, "You are suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he vow to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect."

Jamie laughed, "If only it were that simple. This is about savagery. Intellect alone is useless in a fight. Come on, Spock. You... you can't even break a rule, how would you be excepted to break bone? People like me and Johnny have had to fight for everything... you learn to get creative. Marcus is designing weapons, to help him realize his vision of a militarized Starfleet."

Harrison nodded, "Then he sent the Enterprise to use those weapons, to fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet. Without the warp core, we're stranded in enemy space, leading to one inevitable outcome. The Klingons will come searching for whomever was responsible, and there would be no chance of escape. Marcus would finally have the war, he talked about the war, he always wanted. You aren't naïve, Admiral. You know there is credence to what I'm saying."

Pike nodded just as Sulu's voice came over the intercom, "Proximity alert, sir. There's a ship at warp heading right for us."

Pike looked at Jamie, "Marcus?"

She nodded, "Has to be."

Pike took a breath, "Kirk, take him to medbay." She nodded and got the security officer to open the cell.

John pulled her into a hug as soon as he stepped out, "I never thought I'd get to do that again. Hello."

She smiled, "Hi. We gotta go." He nodded and they sprinted to the turbolift.


	2. Chapter 2

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Sickbay, USS Enterprise, outside Federation/Klingon Neutral Zone

" _Pike._ " Admiral Marcus was on the screens all over the ship. Jamie knew Pike well enough to know that the broadcast was on purpose.

" _Marcus, I wasn't excepting you. It's a hell of a ship you got there_ ," they all heard Pike tell the other Admiral.

Marcus glared, " _And I wasn't expecting to get word that you'd taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders_."

Pike took a breath, " _Well, we had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned, but you already knew that, didn't you, sir?_ "

Marcus' eyes squinted for a second, " _I don't take your meaning_." Jamie would've laughed in his face, he knew what Pike meant.

" _Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? To assist with our repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the Neutral Zone?_ " it was a nice cover from Chris. A moment later Pike spoke again, " _Is there something I can help you find, sir_?" They must have tried to scan the ship looking for John.

Her suspicions were confirmed a second later, " _Where is your prisoner, Pike?"_

 _"_ _Per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on returning him to Earth for a court martial._ "

Marcus looked at him, " _I'm assuming you talked to him. It's exactly what I was hoping to spare you from. I took a tactical risk on that bastard, but I made a mistake, and now the blood of everybody he's killed is on my hands. So, I'm asking you, give him to me, so that I can end what I started_."

Jamie held onto Harrison's arm, it wasn't a conscience act, just something that was them, "He's not gonna turn you over. I hope." She tried to inject some humor into it but it wasn't working.

Bones and Doctor Carol Marcus looked at them and then back at the screens, " _You saw what this man can do all by himself. What else did he tell you? That he's a peace keeper? He's playing you, son. Don't you see that? I'm gonna ask you again! One last time, son. Lowers your shields, tell me where he is_."

Pike must have thought of something because he lied his ass off, " _He's in Engineering, sir. But I'll have him moved to the transporter room right away_."

" _I'll take it from here_ ," Marcus said before the comms cut out. Jamie and John looked at each other and the ship jumped into warp.

Bones took a breath, "Well, at least we're moving again."

John shook his head, "He'll catch us."

There was something in the way he said it that caused Jamie and Carol to look at each other, "Come on." The four of them ran from sickbay to the bridge, "Permission to come on the bridge."

Pike nodded, "Doctors, Commanders."

John stepped closer to Pike, "If you think you're safe at warp, you're wrong. He will catch up with us."

Carol nodded, "When he does, the only thing that's gonna stop him from destroying this ship is me. So you have to let me talk to him."

Pike looked at them, "We're at warp, he can't catch up with us."

Harrison looked at him, "Yes, he can. One of the projects I worked on was a ship that has advanced warp capabilities and I..."

Sulu cut him off, "Sir, I'm getting a reading I don't understand."

John looked at him, "It's the Vengeance." Marcus caught up to them and started shooting.

Jamie glanced at the screens closest to her, "Weapons are down and we got a bulkhead breach."

Pike looked at her and nodded, **"** Evasive maneuvers, Sulu! Get us to Earth, right now!"

"Sir, stop! Everybody on this ship is going to die if you don't let me speak to him," Carol told the Admiral.

Pike thought about it for a minute before he nodded, "Uhura, hail them."

Carol stood next to Pike, "Sir, it's me. It's Carol."

Just like the doctor predicted, the Vengeance stopped firing and Marcus came online, "What are you doing on that ship?"

Carol took a breath, "I heard what you said. That you made a mistake and now you're trying to fix it. But, Dad... I... I don't believe that the man who raised me is capable of destroying a ship full of innocent of people. And... if I'm wrong about that, then you're gonna have to do it with me on board."

Marcus smirked, "Actually, Carol, I won't."

She turned to face Jamie as the other ship beams her over, "Oh! Jamie."

"Can we intercept the transport signal?" Pike asked but Jamie was already trying.

"No, sir." Carol disappeared from the bridge.

"Admiral Pike, without authorization and in league with the fugitive John Harrison. You went rogue in enemy territory, leaving me no choice but to hunt you down and destroy you," Marcus was going to kill them.

John moved to stand next to Pike, "Wait. It's me you want. They were just doing what they thought was the logical action. Take me, do whatever you want but leave these people alone. They're innocent."

Marcus looked at him, "If it's any consolation, I was gonna kill them anyway."

* * *

Stardate 2250.04 (January 4th, 2250)  
Classified Starfleet Intelligence Base, Codename: Asgard, Location: Unknown

Jamie paced the hallway, they weren't telling her anything and it was driving her crazy. Getting hurt was an occupational hazard but John wasn't one to get hurt… not bad enough for surgery anyway.

"Agent Kirk." She looked up at the sound of the doctor's voice as Price pushed himself off the wall. "He's going to be fine. He'll be off his feet for a while but I have full confidence that he'll be back in the field in no time. He's asking for you."

Jamie thanked him before making her way to John's bed in the infirmary, "'I know you think you're invincible but you aren't.' I think I nailed the accent."

John laughed, "Oh, that hurts."

She stepped closer, "That's what you get for going without me. I'm the one that does stupid stuff and gets hurt. You're the one who gives me crap about it afterwards. At least you didn't add your name to the short list of people who died on my birthday. What happened to the calm, cool and collected guy I know and love?"

He looked at her, "First, happy birthday. Second, to answer your question; there was a girl… she reminded me of you when you and Sam first moved to Tarsus. They were going to hurt her and I couldn't… I couldn't watch another girl get robbed of her innocence." Well, that explained a lot.

"I'm not innocent, John."

He looked at the ceiling, "You were. Then that _man_ … I couldn't… I should've fought harder for you…"

Jamie sat on the edge of his bed and touched his face, "You did fight. That's the only thing I choose to remember about… that. I focused on you. You fought the whole time, then they tossed me in your arms and you kept apologizing for them. Need I remind you, you're the one who killed that bastard. I get it though… I even think this whole protective thing is cute when it isn't annoying the crap outta me. How's the girl?"

He smiled, "Saved her and killed the attackers but one of them got a few good stabs, cowards."

Jamie touched the bandage on his chest, "They're lucky I wasn't with you."

He looked at her, "How so, beautiful?"

She smiled, "You aren't the only protective one in this duo…"

John chuckled, "That's an understatement. At least I'm taller."

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Bridge, USS Enterprise, two hundred and thirty-seven thousand kilometers from Earth

"You two want to do what?" Pike looked at the pair.

"Commander Spock made a valid point, sir, we can't run and we can't fight… that leaves us with next to no options. Since we can't take the ship from the outside, the only way we can take it is from within. A large away team would be detected, so it's best for the team to be as small as possible. Marcus' crew will put up a fight which will require personnel with advanced combat abilities and I have innate knowledge of that ship. Jamison and I are the best choice. This is the only feasible option." Jamie and John stood next to each other on the bridge.

Pike looked at her, "You're talking about an extravehicular activity to get there, Kirk. You could get yourself killed."

Jamie looked at him, "Story of my life, sir. EVA is a standard requirement at Advanced Tactical Training, which I aced. Plus that whole thing on Vulcan. If we do nothing, Marcus will destroy this ship, he said so himself. We got one shot, we gotta make it count." Everyone on the bridge watched as Pike thought over it.

"Can you really do this?" the admiral asked.

They both nodded, "It would not be the first time, Admiral."

Pike looked at John, "That's what worries me, Commander."

"Heavy is the head, sir." Pike looked at Jamie as she smiled, "My disregard for protocol doesn't seem like simple rebellion now, does it? I know people have their opinions on what I should do but I only know what I can do. That's what I tried to do as Captain, the best I could for the people around me… not the people sitting at HQ who spent months taking apart decisions I had to make within seconds. I've been on the other side of ignoring a problem, it cost my aunt, uncle and brother their lives. I respect the chair, but I respect lives more. I wanted to get that off my chest, just in case."

If anything had bothered her about her command being taken away, it was the fact that Pike thought she didn't care, " _I gave you my ship because I saw greatness in you. Now I see you haven't got an ounce of humility. You think you're infallible. You think you can't make a mistake, it's a pattern with you, the rules are for other people. And what's worse is you're using blind luck to justify you're playing God. Given the circumstances, this has been brought to Admiral Marcus' attention. He convened a special tribunal to which I was not invited. You understand what Starfleet regulations mandate be done at this point? They've taken the Enterprise away from you. You don't comply with the rules, you don't take responsibility for anything, and you don't respect the chair. You know why? Because you're not ready for it_."

Pike nodded, "I guess I should've listened to you."

Jamie shrugged, "Yea, well… nobody's perfect."

* * *

"How are you planning to get in?" Bones asked as they –Jamie, John, Pike, and Bones- walked through the ship.

"There's a cargo door, hanger seven, access port one-oh-one-alpha. We're going to launch from this ship and enter there. What I'm doing right now, is creating an override code to open the airlock when we give it a signal," John answered.

"That's crazy. I get that this guy is your friend, Jim, but you're gonna shoot yourself at that ship and hope that the door opens."

Jamie chuckled, "Have some faith, Bonesy… it'll work."

He glared at her before grabbing her arm, "Jim, you need to slow down for a second and think about this."

She took a breath, "I did. We're out of options. Marcus will kill us… he's not like me or Pike even, he wants a war and he'll do anything he can to start one."

Bones shook his head, "How can you be sure that we can trust this guy?"

Jamie looked at Bones, "Because, there is no one in the universe I trust more than him."

* * *

Stardate 2250.29 (January 29th, 2250)  
Location: Unknown

"Simple mission, my ass," she whispered to herself. Jamie was cuffed to a chair in some warehouse, on some planet that she didn't know the name of. Her mission was a simple data extraction that turned into direct combat and ended with her being overpowered. Jamie was good at hand-to-hand combat but she was far from being as good as Price or even John. Price would probably make some joke about her being 17 but John would never let him get away with it.

The issue Jamie was having at the moment wasn't that she was compromised, it was that the data she found wasn't what she was sent for. Someone, she doesn't know who, set this whole thing up. She'd have to talk to John about when he came to spring her.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to us, little girl?" She looked up at the ugly asshole holding her hostage.

She rolled her eyes, "What would you like me to talk about? The weather? I have no idea where we are."

The man looked at her, "Who sent you?"

"Who said I was sent by anyone? I'm a nosy kid with no parental supervision," she half-lied. It was the running joke back at Asgard. She was the youngest agent on the base but she was one of the smartest and one of the best.

"I highly doubt that's the case." He turned a PADD towards her, on it was a holo of Jamie and John on a mission on Risa. They were pretending to be a couple, so he had his arm slung over her shoulder, "We know who he is. You want to try again?"

They didn't have a real ID on John, just the fake one that SI released with his cover information on it. Jackson Harris was a freelance computer programmer, his hobbies included a bunch of martial arts and traveling; Jamie laughed her ass off when she read his profile.

Jamie's cover, Jai Keen, was an engineering student who, like Jamie, had no family and loved music from the 20th and 21st century. "What about Jack?"

The man looked at her, "We know that he is a spy. We don't know who he works for but I find it odd that his girlfriend showed up at our facility to steal information."

Jamie laughed, "I don't know why you think I'm his girlfriend. I told you, I was just snooping. If you know who I am, then you know I'm a orphan and I get into trouble all the time." John added that last bit of info to her file, thinking it would help and it usually does.

The man nodded, "Yes, but I think it's all a lie. Jackson is a computer programmer; it would be easy to change your file."

"I'd agree with you but I'm just a teenager. Who would let a kid be a spy? Why don't you tell me what you think is going on," she shrugged as best she could. It was risky to get this guy to spill what he knew but she didn't have a choice at the moment.

"We think he's trying to disrupt our… plans." Terrorist groups are always a wildcard, some will kill without reservation and others would hold you hostage so you can't warn anyone about what they were planning. The Federation had been watching this group, Humanity Now, for years. Jamie and John were just two of the newer agents to be assigned duties monitoring the group's activities. H.N. were the kill now types. Jamie figured that as long as she could keep him talking, she'd be alright until someone John showed up.

The man talked with her for a while before Andrew Dalton, the leader of H.N., walked into the room and shot him in the head with a projectile weapon, a Glock handgun by the looks of it. "He talks too much." The man turned his weapon on her, "I'm sorry, child."

Jamie just smiled, "Me too." He went down in a heap on the floor as the phaser shot hit him, "Nice timing."

John pulled the hood off his head, "I aim to please. You alright?"

She nodded, "Nothing a hot shower won't fix." He hacked the cuffs and released her arms before securing the man he stunned. "I think we have a rooster in the hen house."

John nodded, "That's why I've been gone since I was cleared for duty. I'll explain en route to Asgard." Getting out of the facility –carrying a knocked out hostage- was way easier than it should have been. They figured out why almost as soon as they were airborne, "They're firing torpedoes."

Jamie nodded as her hands flew over the controls, "I know, I know. I got this." Jamie locked onto the weapons and fired back with the small ship's limited armament.

"Jamison…"

She chuckled, "Hang on, this is the fun part." Jamie pulled a bunch of evasive maneuvers and took out the ground-to-air weapons before jumping to warp. "Ya gotta have a little faith, Johnny."

He smiled at her, "I have a little. Doesn't help that you're just a tab bit bonkers."

"A 'tad bit bonkers' am I?" she asked in her best British accent.

He nodded, "Yes. At least your fake accent is better than it used to be. Before our guest wakes up, I should fill you in on Price."

Jamie looked at him, "Our Price?"

He sighed, "Not really ours as it turns out. As soon as we secure Dalton, they're clearing Asgard. Everyone has to go, they'll make sure we aren't moles and then we'll be reassigned."

She looked at him as fear gripped her, "Are they gonna split us up?"

John touched her hand, "I don't know. I hope not but I can't say for sure."

She didn't like the idea one bit and he knew it, "Who's gonna keep me from doing stupid shit if they split us up."

John smiled, "We'll worry about it later, if we have to. No matter what happens, I will always have your back, Jamison."

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Waste Exhaust Room, USS Enterprise, two hundred and thirty-seven thousand kilometers from Earth

Jamie and John pulled on thruster suits before climbing down a ladder into this room. Jamie can honestly admit that she's never been in here before. Spock's voice sounded in her year, "Kirk, before you launch, you should be aware, there is a considerable debris field between our ships."

Jamie chuckled, "Thanks for stating the obvious, Spock." She looked at John, "You ready?"

He smiled, "To join you on some crazy adventure? Always."

Jamie took a deep breath, "Okay, Admiral, pull the trigger."

Pike's voice came up over the comm, "You got it. Spock?"

The Vulcan's voice returned, "Launching activation sequence on three...two...one." The airlock opened and launched the pair into space.

They were doing well until Spock gave them a warning, "Kirk, there is debris directly ahead."

Jamie paid close attention to what she was doing, "Copy that." At that moment, Jamie and John encountered the debris. 'This sucks' was all she could think.

"Whoa, Jim! You're way off course!"

She chuckled, "I can see that, Bones!"

Everyone seemed to be an expert because Sulu started talking too, "Use your display compass, Kirk. You must correct precisely thirty-seven point two-four- three degrees."

She rolled her eyes, "Got it. I'm working my way back, now."

She was almost back on course when her helmet got hit by… something, "Dammit."

"Jamison, what's wrong?" John's voice was calming.

Jamie did a quick assessment, "My helmet was hit."

Sulu took that moment to warn them, "Imminent collision detected."

Spock told them what was going on, "Harrison, use evasive action, there is debris directly ahead."

"I see it." John sounded calmer than she felt.

A few seconds later she heard Pike, "Mister Sulu, did we lose Harrison?"

The helmsman responded, "I don't know, Commander. I'm having trouble tracking him in all this debris."

Jamie tried not to panic, "Was he hit? Talk to me, Johnny."

He didn't respond, Spock did, "We're trying to find him now."

Jamie tried to focus on Sulu, "Kirk, you need to adjust your target destination to one-eight-three by four-seven-three degrees."

It wasn't much use, "My display is dead. I'm flying blind."

"Without your display compass, hitting your target destination is mathematically impossible," Spock told her.

She could laugh, "Spock, if I get back, we really need to talk about your bedside manner."

Sulu was addressing the bridge, "Admiral, she's not gonna make it." Well that was just great. This was already a crazy mission.

"My display is still functioning. I see you, Jamison, you're two hundred meters ahead at my one o'clock. Cut to your left, a few degrees and follow me," John told her.

She wanted to jump for joy, "What did you do, stop for takeout?" He chuckled, "No, I lost signal, I only heard that last bit." She did as he told her and flew with him to towards the Vengeance.

As they got closer, John notified the Enterprise to open the airlock, Spock counted them down, "Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... three… two... now!" The door opened and pulled them both in. They both rolled for few feet before sliding to a stop.

"Well, that was fun."

John shook his head, "Only you would find that fun, beautiful. They'll know we're here. I know the best way to the bridge." They both hopped up and pulled off their suits.

Jamie passed John a phaser, "It's lock to stun… not my idea."

He nodded, "Theirs won't be."

She chuckled, "I guess that means we'll have to try not to get shot."

* * *

Stardate 2259.55 (February 24th, 2259)  
Engineering, USS Vengeance, two hundred and thirty-seven thousand kilometers from Earth

"So, miss me?"

Jamie smiled at the question as they jogged through the ship, "Of course I did, but you had your assignment and I had mine."

He chuckled, "Then you saved the world and blew your covers."

She nodded, "Yea… that." They weren't taking the turbolifts, even though it was faster, they were easily tracked and Marcus would have them locked in a cage, they were taking a path through the engine room. It was tactically the best option since you can't fire weapons in here without destabilizing the warp core, giving Jamie and John the advantage. "Not trying to tempt fate here, but where is everybody?"

John smirked, "The ship is designed to be controlled by minimal crew, one if necessary." She actually liked the idea, it would be hard but only having a handful of people on the ship could prove useful. Suddenly, they were confronted by a guard, who John quickly beat up. Jamie took out the guy who showed up behind her.

"You alright?"

He nodded, "Yes, you?"

Jamie shrugged, "I've had worse."

They finally made their way to the bridge and started dropping Marcus' people. It was like a dance, the way they moved; when one of them shifted, the other responded.

Jamie faced the Admiral, "Admiral Marcus, you're under arrest."

He glared at her, "You're not actually gonna do this, are you?"

Jamie was not in the mood, "Admiral, get out of the chair."

Marcus just looked at her, "You better stop and think about what you're doing, Kirk. You better think about what you did on Qo'noS. You made an incursion onto an enemy planet, you killed a Klingon patrol. Even if you got away without a trace, war is coming! Who's gonna lead us? You!? If I'm not in charge, our entire way of life is decimated! So you want me off this ship, you better kill me."

"I'm not gonna kill you, sir, but I could stun your ass and drag you out of that chair. I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter." She looked over at Carol, "You alright?"

Carol nodded, "Yes, Commander."

Jim turned her attention back to Marcus, "You tried to kill the only people who ever gave a damn about me, I could end you right now and not think twice about it but that would make me a murderer. Get out of the chair and show your daughter that you still have part of the man she grew up with inside of you."

Carol stepped closer, "Please, dad." Marcus stood and John cuffed him so fast it wasn't even funny.

Jamie hit the comm to the Enterprise, "Kirk to Pike, we have the ship." He told her to hand tight as he sent a team over. Jamie looked at John, "Just like old times, huh?"

He chuckled, "Traitors and crazy odds. We're getting too old for this, Jamison."

She smiled, "You're getting old, I'm just getting started."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I mentioned it but Daystrom didn't happen. Let's face it, killing Pike was just the writers being mean.

Stardate 2259.56 (February 25th, 2259)  
Sickbay, USS Enterprise, Dock 27-Delta, Starbase One

"I still don't get it. You two were SI together. How does that work? And why did you go to the academy if you were already in Starfleet?" Bones was firing questions at her like it was nothing.

She was only in medical because Pike ordered her and John to see the doctor. John went right away but it was just after midnight by the time she got around to it. "If I tell you then I'll have to kill you, Bones."

He glared at her, "It's not funny, I want to know. Does it have anything to do with your missing medical information? And why you don't talk to your mother? Come on, Jim, help me out here."

"I wanna know all of this too." Jamie looked up as Pike walked over to the bio-bed.

"Nothing to tell, sir."

Pike chuckled, "I call bullshit. How do you and Harrison really know each other?"

Jamie pointed to Bones' office and the three of them headed that way. "Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning…"

* * *

Stardate 2244.148 (May 28th, 2244)  
Carson Manner Neighborhood, Tarsus Four Colony

"You guys will like it here. It's quiet, like Riverside, but the people are nicer and smarter. You'll be tested to figure out where you'll place in school. It's not determined by age like it is on Earth, it's by intelligence so you'll be with people on the same level as you. We don't have the long break like Earth does, there are shorter ones throughout the year," Aunt Marie paused and looked at them.

She continued talking but Jamie didn't pay any attention to what she said. Jamie and George didn't say anything, they just looked around as the group walked from the shuttle port to what would be the kid's new home. After grandpa Jim passed away, the pair got stuck with their mother's new husband, Frank. He was an abusive, alcoholic asshole who beat the crap out of the Kirk kids like he was getting paid to.

One of the officers at the shipyard spotted Jamie sporting a bunch of injuries and comm'ed the authorities. She didn't answer their questions when they showed up, Frank however, wouldn't shut up. The man talked himself right into jail, taking a few swings at the Starfleet officer who reported the abuse didn't help his case any.

Winona was pissed at Jamie for Frank's arrest –yes, it's as dumb as it sounds- and refused to take custody of her. Fortunately, her father's brother, James Kirk and his wife, Marie, offered to take Jamie. Winona was gonna take George junior but he told their mother to fuck off and opted to stay with his sister.

Uncle Jim was George senior's older brother. He and his wife moved to the Tarsus Four colony at the very beginning and they helped to make it what it was. There were eight thousand colonists and the place was thriving.

"It's beautiful." It was the first thing Jamie said in weeks.

Her aunt smiled at her, "It sure is, sweetie. When you get settled, maybe you two can explore." They both nodded as they walked into the house. It was simple but welcoming, nothing like the house they lived in with Frank. Jamie and George kept the place clean but it never felt like home.

Jamie's room was next to her brother's, just like it was back in Riverside. She quietly unpacked the few belongings she had and looked around. The room was simple and decorated in light gray and turquoise, for which she was thankful since pink wasn't her color.

"You can change it if you want," Aunt Marie was leaning against the door.

Jamie shook her head, "I like it."

Her aunt slowly, and gently, touched her shoulder, "It wasn't your fault, sweetie. Just know that. Your… _mother_ and her husband… the problems they have aren't your fault, you were just a convenient target." Jamie nodded, she knew that much. Jamie sat down after she finished her task and looked around without a word.

"You okay, Jimmy?" Sam and Uncle Jim were standing at the door. She looked at her brother and gave him a hand gesture that he knew to mean 'yea' as he sat down next to her. Sometimes, it was the only way to communicate with each other when Frank went on one of his rampages.

Their uncle chuckled, "Georgie used to call me Jimmy when we were kids. I still can't believe they named you after me and Winona's dad." Jamie has never heard anyone talk about her dad like that. Uncle Jim smiled when he talked about his younger brother.

"Can you tell us about him?" Jamie whispered.

Her aunt and uncle both looked at her and her brother answered the unasked question, "Winona didn't talk about him and Frank hates him. What Jamie knows about dad is limited to the information she found hacking into Starfleet's server and the little bits that I remember."

Their uncle smirked, "You hacked into Starfleet? Georgie would get a kick outta that. I'll tell you all about him." He sat on the floor in front of her and told her a story about her father. And every night before bed, he'd sit in the same spot and tell her another one.

* * *

Stardate 2244.246 (September 3rd, 2244)  
Outside Tarsus Four Intermediate School, Tarsus Four Colony

"That doesn't make any sense, Jimmy." The Kirk siblings were walking home from school talking about the possibility of transwarp beaming.

Jamie rolled her eyes, "Says you. It's possible. All you would need to do is figure out the correct field equation for the continuous recrystallization of dilithium while transport is in progress. This would allow for the steady usage of power during transport."

Jamie heard someone chuckle behind her, "She's right. From a physics standpoint, at least."

Jamie smirked at her brother, "See. That guy agrees with me."

She turned, "Thanks for the backup. I'm…"

"Jamison and he's George, I know. My dad works with your aunt and uncle. I'm John Harrison. It's nice to finally meet you both. My mum has been going on and on about Mister James' niece and nephew. She's the nurse you saw when you first got here." Jamie smiled as the two teens on either side of her sized each other up, boys.

Jamie chuckled, "So, you're Johnny."

He nodded, "I hate it when she calls me that but you know how mom's are."

Jamie and George shook their heads, "Not really."

John raised an eyebrow and Jamie shrugged, "She's fleet, never around."

"That has to suck," John said.

"Not really, she's a bitch," Sam muttered under his breath. Jamie nudged them and continued to walk home.

John looked at her, "So, how does an eleven year old know so much about transwarp beaming?"

"I'm an engineer… at least I will be," she said.

George nudged her, "She's being modest, my sister is a genius. Engineering, physics, math, computers, literature… anything she gets her hands on. She was ahead of everybody back on Earth, so she would just read stuff all the time. According to our uncle, it's insane how much she takes after our dad."

Jamie shrugged, "You're no slouch, Sammy."

He smirked, "Yea, but my _little_ sister is in the same classes as me. So…"

John laughed, "So, genius and _genius_?"

Jamie chuckled, "That's about right. You gotta be up there too if you knew what I was talking about."

John nodded, "I'm nowhere near you, but I'm good. Always looking to be better, too." That was something Jamie could understand. The three of them kept talking as they walked home, the Kirk's house was first.

"I only live two houses down if you guys ever want to hang out or study let me know," John told the pair.

George nodded, "We'll do that. See ya, John."

Jamie smiled, "Later, Johnny."

He chuckled, "Usually, I'd have a fit if someone called me that but I'll make an exception for the genius. Bye, guys."

* * *

Stardate 2245.105 (April 14th, 2245)  
Engineering Lab, Tarsus Four Intermediate School, Tarsus Four Colony

"Thanks for the invite, Calvin, but I think I'm gonna pass." Jamie was trying to get away from him. Calvin was this kid who was a year older then her, four levels behind her and refused to take no for an answer. She stayed after school to finish a propulsion project and after Tommy left, Calvin cornered her.

"Come on, Jamie. What's the big deal?"

She huffed, "The big deal is that I don't want to. You're a nice enough guy, Calvin but I'm not the girl for you. Now, excuse me. I gotta get this done."

He wouldn't let her go, "Jamie…"

"She's already told you no. You can leave now or you can deal with me. Your choice." Jamie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as John entered the room.

Calvin stepped back, "I didn't mean anything by it, man."

John looked at him, "I hope not. I would really hate to have beat the crap out of you then tell her brother why."

The boy nodded and glanced at Jamie, "Sorry." He practically ran from the room.

"I didn't need to be rescued, you know," Jamie told him with a glare.

He looked at her, "You did, you just won't admit it."

Jamie didn't like being indebted to anyone, "That's not the point. Now I owe you one and I hate that shit. What are you doing here, anyway?" He graduated already.

John looked at her, "You don't owe me. We're friends… at least I think we are. You look out for your friends, no matter what. And your brother mentioned that you were here, alone. I told him that I'd check on you."

She rolled her eyes, "You only tolerate me because you're my brother's friend and I'm just his kid sister who… You're like five years older than me."

He chuckled, "For starters, you're smarter than most people my age. Which actually pisses me off sometimes because for someone so smart, you can be so dumb, Jamison. I don't pick my friends based on age and while I do spend more time with Sam, you're my friend too, despite being five years younger than me." He had adopted one of her nicknames for her brother.

She smiled, "I didn't… I'm… Thank you for helping me with him."

John chuckled, "See, that wasn't so hard. You're welcome. You want my help to finish this?"

She looked at her project and nodded, "I don't want to keep you from something else but I'd appreciate a hand, if you got the time."

He pulled off his jacket, "I have the time."

* * *

Stardate 2246.134 (May 14th, 2246)  
Caves outside the Tarsus Four Colony

"Eat this." John handed her some food.

"I can't take your rations, Johnny."

He looked at her, "You can and you will. You think I don't notice that you keep giving your food to Kevin. You have to eat."

She glared at him, "So do you."

He nodded, "And I have been. Don't make me tell your brother, Jamison."

Jamie took the last half of the last protein bar that they got from Hoshi's emergency gear and ate it, "Happy?"

He smiled, "Not really but I feel better knowing that you aren't starving yourself."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "That's not what I'm doing."

He nodded, "I know that, but your brother might not see it that way. Besides, you can't help Kevin or anyone else if you die." She wanted to argue with him but she didn't have the energy and settled for resting her head on his shoulder.

"Might die anyway, Johnny."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "We might, but it won't be without a fight. Kodos thinks he's won but we're still here, so there is still a chance." Hope was something that Jamie never had much experience with but if John had hope, maybe she could try to have a little.

"You really think someone will come for us?"

He nodded, "That message I sent out, went through, we just have to hold tight until someone comes to investigate." Before Kodos killed half the colony, Jamie and Tommy had figured out what was going on; they told Hoshi. She came up with a plan to send out a message but there were only a few places in the colony to send it from. They opted for medical since Misses Sara, John's mom, already worked in there and John being in the building wasn't out of place. Jamie coded the message, Hoshi tagged it with Starfleet emergency codes and John hacked the comms grid to send it. "They'll come for us, I promise."

* * *

Stardate 2246.176 (June 25th, 2246)  
Shuttle port, San Francisco Harbor, Earth

Jamie looked around, it all seemed so surreal. "Come on," John grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd.

"Where are we going?" she asked him. He walked up to the kiosk and tapped in some information before being given e-passes for a shuttle off planet, "John?"

He smiled, "We're going to Betazed. I _may_ have agreed to be your guardian when they couldn't find any family for you after your mother told them to keep you. Best case is they stick you in a group home and the worst case, they send you to back to Riverside. I think you'd prefer getting out of here with me and I talked the captain into it." Jamie nodded, she didn't like the idea of leaving the others but they all had families to go to. Jamie was alone, except for John, she had no one; Winona didn't count.

"Why Betazed?" she asked her friend.

He shrugged, "It's peaceful and beautiful and since the people can read minds or feelings, they generally leave you alone."

Jamie nodded as they boarded the shuttle, "Works for me."

* * *

Stardate 2248.234 (August 22nd, 2248)  
Kirk/Harrison Property near Lake El'nar, Betazed

"I'm offering you a chance to do some good for the Federation and for the people you lost. Are you gonna fix shuttles for the rest of your life? You have remarkable skills for a 15 year old. We can help you hone them, focus them, if you let us." Jamie looked at the man, he didn't look like he could be an intelligence agent, but that was the point.

She looked at John, "I don't just fix shuttles."

The man chuckled, "No, you also take classes at the University of Betazed, that's how we found you, by the way."

Jamie shrugged, they weren't really hiding, if someone really wanted to find her they were more than welcome to. They couldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do, no matter how hard they tried though.

"What do you think, Johnny?"

He chuckled, "They aren't asking me."

"Actually, we'd like both of you to join us. Wouldn't let you sit in on this conversation, otherwise." The man without a name told them. Jamie and John shared a look, one that stemmed from years of living together in close quarters.

"I'm in, if you are," Jamie said after some thought.

He nodded at her and the man smiled, "Looks like I have two new operatives."

* * *

Stardate 2259.56 (February 25th, 2259)  
Chief Medical Officer's Office, Sickbay, USS Enterprise, Dock 27-Delta, Starbase One

"So, yeah. Not the best bedtime story but it's real and it's mine." They both looked at her.

"That still doesn't explain how I recruited you," Pike said.

Jamie chuckled, "That's pretty simple, you were suppoed to. It was part of an assignment at the academy. I had a fifty-fifty chance of you recruiting me since you studied the Kelvin and the parts of my file you could access showed a very troubled youth. Took two and a half years to finish that op, SI decided to let me finish out the last 4 months of classes but only because they thought it would be useful. Then Nero showed up and I had to be the big hero… blew all my identities. I can still take assignments but not any undercovers… I was really good at those."

Bones looked at her, "What about your mother?"

Jamie shrugged, "Still hates me… especially since the last time I saw her."

* * *

Stardate 2252.274 (October 1st, 2252)  
Engineering, USS Chicago, en route to Babel

Jamie was here for a conference; the USS Chicago (NCC-1651) was a Miranda-class heavy cruiser currently serving as transport for a bunch of politicians. The ambassador from Betazed allowed Jamie to pose as a member of his staff while she carried out her mission to investigate a possible traitor among the dignitaries. John was posing as a Risan and Tala'nos was with the Andorians.

It took them almost a week but they figured out that the information was being leaked from the Tellarite delegation, one of the ambassador's aides. With her job done and the conference wrapping up, she made her way to Engineering to look around.

In hindsight, it was foolish but it was rare that she gets to see the warp core in a Federation starship. "What are you doing here?"

Jamie turned at the voice and found herself face-to-face with the one person in the universe that she never wanted to see, "Winona."

"Jamison. Here to cost me another husband?"

Jamie looked at this woman, "I didn't do anything to you, or Frank or Geor…"

Winona cut her off, "Don't say his name."

She glared at the woman, "George. What happened to him was a tragedy but it wasn't my fault, I was a baby. It's been nineteen years and you still can't see that."

Winona grabbed her arm, "All I see is a spoiled little brat who's somewhere she shouldn't be."

Jamie pulled away from her, "That's rich coming from a woman who dumped her kids with the first man she could find and got pissy when he was arrested for beating the crap out of them. I bet you preferred that he killed us."

"Just you," Winona sneered.

Jamie chuckled, "Because I'm like George. You don't have to say it, my brother did, so did Aunt Marie and Uncle Jim. Crazy when you think about how much that man loved his brother. His face when he saw what Frank did to us… Well, Frank was lucky he was in jail because Uncle Jim would've killed him if he wasn't. That's what you do for people you love. You fight for them and when they're gone, you fight for their family. You ran away like the coward you are and then you blamed a baby for George's death when you're the reason he died. He died protecting you. You know the really sad part about all this, Sam lost both his parents that day. My brother didn't deserve that. I wouldn't worry about it since he's dead now too. I kinda think he lucked out because now he's with dad again. I wonder what George would think of you. He gave you a gift… and you threw it away. I feel bad for you, Winona. I really do."

* * *

Stardate 2259.56 (February 25th, 2259)  
First Officer's Quarters, USS Enterprise, Dock 27-Delta, Starbase One

"Comfy?" she asked as she stepped into her quarters. John was lying on her couch. Bones had ordered her to get some sleep and Pike gave her his permission to go. Jamie made her way through the banged up ship to her room. The ship had docked at the starbase but those who could stay on the ship, did. Apparently, so did John. She shouldn't be surprised that he was in here, he was the better hacker and the doors on this ship weren't that hard to get into if you knew how to do it.

He opened his eyes, "Quite. How are you?"

She looked at him, "Tired and I need a shower."

He nodded, "I'll be here." She gave him a small smile as she pulled off her boots and walked into the bathroom. From looking at what he was wearing and the pile of clothes on her bathroom floor, John had showered already. Jamie hopped in and kept it quick, she was too tired for anything else. Jamie finished her shower, wrapped a towel around herself and walked back into the main room. Jamie dug through the bag with most her stuff in it.

"Why are all your belongings packed?"

She chuckled, "Because two days ago, I was the captain and slept in the room next door. This was Spock's room; he _was_ transferred to the Bradbury but Pike requested to keep him for this mission, he's staying in a room one deck down." It was fucked up. She hated that they all just got pushed aside like they were for doing the right thing. Knowing that Marcus was behind her demotion made it a little better. The only reason she ended up as the first officer is because Pike argued to keep her on the Enterprise.

She found what she was looking for and pulled the shirt over her head. John chuckled, "Isn't that my shirt?"

She tossed her towel in the recycler, "Yep."

He stood up and walked over to her, "Come on, you're dead on your feet." All Jamie could do was nod as he wrapped an arm around her; it's been a long few days.

She looked at him as he moved to get into bed with her, "Who said you could sleep in here with me?"

John smiled, "You didn't say I couldn't. Besides, if your nightmares are anything like I remember, it's better if I stayed. I'll end up in here anyway so I'm saving us both the trouble." Jamie rolled her eyes and moved over; she hated to admit it but he was right. "Just like old times."

Jamie snuggled against him, "Hope not. Last time I fell asleep next to you, I woke up alone."

* * *

Stardate 2254.314 (November 9th, 2254)  
Classified Starfleet Intelligence Base, Codename: Valhalla, Location: Unknown

"You want a new team? What the hell, Johnny? Ten years we've know each other and you just dropped me because I messed up the mission. That's fucked up."

He looked at her, "It's not what you think, Jamison."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "We got our asses handed to us on that last mission, we come back and you request a transfer without talking to me. Seems pretty fucking clear. You could've said something to me. No, you should've said something to me. I'll be lucky if I don't get benched as it is but you wanna leave."

He shook his head, "It wasn't your fault, it was mine. I told them as much. As far as my transfer goes, it's not you…"

She glared at him, "'It's not you, it's me.' Seriously? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say."

"It's the truth, you have to trust me."

Jamie took a breath, "I do trust you. I just don't understand what's going on and you won't tell me. I've seen you talk in circles around people but I never thought you would try that shit on me. At least tell me what I did."

He looked at her, "Oh Jamison. You didn't do anything. I'm… I'm emotionally compromised, I have been for a while. I thought that I could ignore it. I thought that I could distance myself a bit. I thought I could work around it but I couldn't. I almost got us both killed because…" John trailed off.

"Because what? Whatever it is, we can fix it. We can figure it out."

He shook his head, "It's not that simple."

Jamie chuckled, "Come on, it's what we do. I'm sure there's something we can do about it."

John took a breath, "I'm in love with you."

Jamie could feel her heart thumping in her chest. "What?"

He sat down on the end of his bed, "I'm in love with you. I tried not to be but… I am. It's distracting. I can't focus on doing my job because I'm more concerned about you, not that I wasn't always worried about you, it's just… harder to ignore." Jamie wasn't sure if she was more surprised that he loved her or more surprised that he admitted it.

For years, they were as close as two platonic friends who occasionally made out with each other could be. If there was anything to know about Jamie, John knew it and that worked the other way around. This was… she didn't know what to think. She could lie and say that she didn't understand it but she did. It was one thing to be in love with someone –and she could admit that she was in love with him- and think you didn't have a chance, it was something else when you find out that they love you back.

John looked at her, "Jamison, say something." She didn't know what to say, so she kissed him, slowly, tenderly. John's hands moved up to hold her face as she deepened the kiss. Jamie blindly reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. That started the feverish rush of pulling each other's clothes off, their hands flying in their haste to get everything off.

Jamie felt herself blush as he checked her out from the top of her head to her toes. This wasn't the first time they've been naked in the same room but the atmosphere was usually nothing like this. "It's not fair… how beautiful you are."

She smiled, "I could say the same thing." She skimmed her fingers along his chest, stopping over his heart. He inched her onto the bed, his arms on either side of her. He lowered his head and pressed kisses along her jaw, down her throat, over the slope of her shoulder. Jamie's eyes fluttered closed at the feel of his lips on her skin. He was driving her crazy, "John, please…"

"Are you sure?"

She smiled, "I'm sure." His hands slid under her back, his fingers curling over her shoulders, anchoring Jamie between his body and the bed, pulling her even closer. Then he plunged, pushing deep inside her, his fingers tight on her shoulders. "Oh." She felt all of him and it was something that she never felt before.

"Look at me, Jamison." Jamie fixed her gaze on John as he began to move inside of her. He kept a steady pace, slow and even, cautious like he was worried that he would hurt her if he let go, if he went faster. The feel of him was intoxicating and Jamie let her instincts take over, holding onto John and moving with him.

"You're not gonna hurt me," she whispered against his lips and it was like flipping a switch in him. John moved his hands to her hips, shifting them both in a way that changed everything. Stars danced behind her eyes as he pushed her closer to the edge. She mumbled his name as her spine arched and her head fell back onto the bed. Jamie completely fell apart; his arms wrapped around her as he followed.

* * *

Jamie knew he was gone before she even opened her eyes. The bed was too cold and the room felt empty. She sat up and realized that she was wearing his shirt and there was a note –on actual paper- next to her.

 _Jamison,_  
_I know you'll be upset with me when you realize that I've gone without a goodbye but I think it's best this way. For years, all we had to rely on was each other and while that's not a bad thing, it isn't good either. We both need to see where we fit in the universe without each other, to understand ourselves, to grow.  
I took a solo mission, I don't know how long I'll be gone but I'm hoping that it'll give me the time I need to gain some perspective._  
_I love you, I don't know when it happened or when I realized it but I do and I can admit that it's terrifying. Of all the things I've seen in this lifetime, you scare me the most. You have a power over me that no one has ever had or will ever have, Jamison, you have the power to break me. I have no doubt that we'll find our way back to each other.  
Be careful out there and remember that I love you. Always._  
_John_

"I love you too, Johnny."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The statement Jamie makes about transwarp beaming is true,it ends up being the equation that Spock Prime gives Scotty. Memory Alpha has the explanation.


	4. Chapter 4

Stardate 2259.59 (February 28th, 2259)  
Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"What about Harrison?" Pike posed a damn good question. At the moment, John was officially in Jamie's custody and she left him with Spock and Scotty, helping with the torpedoes and assisting with the Enterprise's repairs.

Admiral Komack looked at her former CO, "We'll need to determine his involvement and go from there."

Jamie took a breath, "He's the scapegoat. Technically, so was I. I mean Marcus demoted me hours before the Kelvin Memorial Archive bombing. Then, he sent everyone after Harrison. You were all so busy looking at the two of us that you all missed Marcus' power play."

She had time to think about it, so had Pike and the timing of her demotion was beyond convenient. Her rank and command were restored by Barnett and Johnson that morning. She knew it was the least of their issues but it was the easiest thing to fix and they needed Pike at HQ, not worrying about the Enterprise. John surmised that Marcus was aware of their connection and demoted her in an attempt to prevent her from helping him. It didn't work, but only because Pike went against decades of training and ignored his orders.

"We still need to talk to him, see what he knows," Admiral Barnett added.

"He won't talk to you," she warned the Admirals.

Komack looked at her, "We can compel him."

Jamie chuckled, "A seasoned SI operative? Good luck with that, sir." They all looked at her. "I'm not being glib, sirs, ma'am. I trained with him, served and survived with him. He won't tell you anything that he doesn't want to tell you and he's been tortured before without coughing up intel. If you want info, I'm the only person in the universe who can get it."

"Why you?" Komack asked.

Jamie was going to say 'he trusts me' but Admiral Reed answered for her, "They were on Tarsus Four together, Harrison was friends with George Kirk Jr before his death there. They're also two of SI's best, even though Kirk is technically inactive." It seemed that Komack was the only one who didn't know any of this.

Admiral Barnett was informed before she entered the academy, Admiral Johnson was on the ship that rescued them, Admiral Li was the head of MedComm when she went to the academy and had to classify her real medical records, she told Pike herself and Admiral Reed, who served with Archer and Hoshi on the NX-01, was the head of SI and personally oversaw some of her missions, keeping an eye on the kids that his friend gave her life to protect. He was still trying to get Jamie back but it wasn't the same after everyone knew who she was.

"You were on Tarsus Four?" Komack looked sick.

"Yes, sir. I lived with my aunt and uncle. Harrison's family lived two doors down," there was a small part of her that took pleasure in the look on his face. He always thought she was a nepotistic brat without a care in the world, and he told her as much every chance he got.

"You think you can get Harrison to talk?" Admiral Johnson brought the conversation back to the real topic.

Jamie nodded, "Yes, ma'am. He'll tell me the truth, even if he doesn't like it."

* * *

Stardate 2248.324 (November 19th, 2248)  
Classified Starfleet Intelligence Field Training Facility. Location: Unknown

"I'm fine," she whispered.

John rolled his eyes, "No, you're not. You're bleeding, let me see." Field survival training was a bitch. There were twelve of them that survived this far. Technically, the mission was solo but most of them had grouped together, it was more tactically sound. Jamie, John and Hunter had teamed up with each other.

Kenneth Hunter grew up on Luna, the kind of guy that looked like he'd be a security officer but with an IQ almost as high as Jamie's. He was nice enough and made friends with her and John after a bunch of the others got dropped. He flirted with Jamie once, the glare that he got from John ended that pretty fast and he stuck to being her friend. Right now, he was standing watch as John checked the bleeding wound on her side. What attacked them, none of them knew but Jamie was banged up pretty bad.

"I patched you up as best I could but we gotta get you back for medical attention," John told her. "Are you listening to me?"

She shook her head, "I'm listening, I disagree with you, though. We have a mission to complete."

He glared at her, "Jamison…"

She touched his arm, "I've had worse, Johnny. We finish the mission and then I promise, I'll see the doctor. I'll even behave." Jamie hated doctors, so agreeing to do what they told her was a big deal. This was nothing compared to some of the beatings she took from Frank. Sam told John about him and was promptly added to the list of people that wanted to kill her stepfather.

Jamie took a breath, she knew John wanted to argue with her but he didn't, he simply nodded, "Fine, but if you need to stop, tell me. I mean it."

She chuckled, "Would I lie to you?"

He looked at her, "Yes."

"I promise to tell you the truth, Johnny," he looked at her as she said it. Jamie meant for it to sound like a joke but it ended up sounding like a vow.

"I promise to do the same," John told her as he pulled one of her arms over his shoulder.

Hunter chuckled, "God, you guys just need to bang already."

They both laughed but Jamie quickly stopped. "Don't make me laugh… that shit hurts."

* * *

Stardate 2259.59 (February 28th, 2259)  
Captain Jamison Kirk's Apartment, Mission Bay, San Francisco, Earth

"Guess who gets to be your interrogator." John glanced at her but didn't say anything as he looked out one of the large windows. It was her favorite part about being on the 168th floor and having an open floor plan, she could see most of the city and the bay from almost everywhere in this apartment. Sometimes it seemed like a waste since she was always working. "Johnny, you okay?"

He turned around and looked at her, "God, I can't tell you how much I've missed hearing you call me that. I think I'm a bit late, but I owe you an apology." They hadn't had much chance to talk in the few days since they got back because they were all too busy fixing her ship and figuring out just how far Marcus' rabbit hole goes. This conversation was five years overdue. Jamie pulled off her gray uniform jacket, tossed it on the back of a chair and sat down on her couch.

For the first few weeks after he left, she was pissed at him and hurt and she felt abandoned... again, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. They had spent so much time together, on Tarsus, on Betazed, in SI and John was right about them needing to grow without each other.

"I understand why you left. What we went through… it broke so many people who were older than us. We came out damaged but we were only okay because we were using each other as a crutch. I mean we were with each other all the time for the better part of ten years. Hell, my nightmares were so bad that you slept in my room for a year…" She looked down at her hands, "I get why you had to leave. Took me a while to figure it out but I've always been better with computers and machines then I ever was with people. You don't need to apologize for that. However, considering what you know about my sexual experience, or lack thereof, at the time, _how_ you left should've been a lot different. Waking up alone in your bed hurt more than I care to admit. Especially since…" Jamie had no desire to talk about what happened with that enforcer on Tarsus but John knew what she meant.

"It was stupid. I was scared and I ran from you. Everyone I cared about was gone except my friend's little sister and I was the only one left to take care of you, except... you weren't little anymore and you were the one looking after me. Part of me felt wrong for even thinking about you as anything other than Sam's sister and it didn't help that our ages became less and less important as we got older, I couldn't use it as a buffer… not that it mattered anyway since you were always smarter than me. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Jamison. I didn't realize until I got back and you weren't there… I knew I was the biggest idiot in the universe for leaving like that. I thought, maybe, after you finished your mission but I got an assignment and before I knew it, months turned into years. When Nero showed up…" he stopped and took a breath. "You saved the world and I was so proud of you. All I wanted to do was pull you into my arms but I couldn't because I was still undercover. Hell, I didn't even think you'd let me. When I saw you on Qo'noS, I was expecting you to hit me."

Jamie chuckled, "Thought about it but I figured we were both having a bad enough day."

John smiled, "I suppose that what I'm trying to say is that I love you and I'm sorry. I don't care what I have to do for you to forgive me, I just… I just want you."

"I already forgave you, Johnny. You know that none of this is gonna be easy, I have a ship full of people counting on me and all of Starfleet watching my every move," she said as she looked at him.

He nodded, "I know. You're such a big deal these days. The universe can have Captain Kirk but Jamison… she's a part of me and I can't live without her. I tried… it hurt too damn much."

Jamie stood up and walked over to where he was standing. John didn't move as she placed her hands on his chest, "Look at me, John." He rested his hands on her hips and a small smile crossed his lips as he looked into her eyes. To most people, Jamie was impossible to read but all John needed was one look and he could see everything. She tried to forget, tried to move on but she couldn't, she loved him too much. They both knew that she wasn't strong enough to walk away. Jamie took a deep breath, "I was always yours… even when I tried not to be. Just… don't do that to me again. It'll break me."

"I promise," he whispered against her lips before he kissed her. John held her captive as his arms tightened around her, his mouth exploring hers. John's hands slid under her black uniform undershirt and pulled it over her head in one swift move. He pressed kisses along her jaw as she unbuttoned the crisp, white shirt he was wearing and pushed it off his shoulders and onto the floor. She ran her hands along his chest, except for a new scar, everything about him was the same, yet sharper and more defined.

"You're gorgeous." Jamie didn't realize that she said it out loud until he chuckled against her shoulder, "So are you, beautiful." He pulled her close again, holding her against him with one hand and pulling the pins out of her hair with the other. The feeling of him against her left Jamie weak-kneed. He picked her up as though she weighed nothing and Jamie wrapped her legs around him like it was second nature.

She knew they weren't going to make it to her bed and John must've been thinking the same thing because he turned with her in his arms and pressed her against the window he was standing in front of. The chill of the glass on her back mixed with the warmth that was purely John sent every one of Jamie's nerves into overdrive.

He practically kicked off his pants before he reached under her skirt and ripped her panties in two. It was sexiest damn thing she'd ever seen. She looked into his eyes as he slowly slid into her. They both moaned at the sensation, it was almost too much. John slowly withdrew from her before sliding back in. He moved tortuously slow, no doubt trying to maintain some control. Jamie crushed her lips to his and within an instant their bodies were a frenzy of movement.

She tightened her grip on him as they moved together; they were both so close. Having him here, with her, brought tears to her eyes. "I'm sorry I left you," he whispered as he kissed the tears away.

"It's okay… I'm okay." Jamie's voice was shaky and she could feel herself trembling.

John chuckled, "You know you can't lie to me. I see you." He caressed the spot over her heart and Jamie came completely undone. It started low in her belly, radiating through her until her entire body was shaking and she fell apart. He began to move faster and Jamie moved with him. They were pressed so close to each other that it felt like they could never be pulled apart. John kept moving, harder pushing Jamie further over the edge until his own body shuddered in completion.

They didn't move, not that Jamie wanted to move, she felt like she was where she belonged for the first time in years. "Can people see in here?" She chuckled at the question, not because it was funny but because he was asking now rather than before.

"No, we're too high up. Besides, it's privacy glass, we can see out but no one can see in." He nodded against her shoulder before wrapping his arm tightly around her waist and carrying her to bed. He pulled off her boots, her bra and her uniform skirt before they got there and pulled the covers back with her still in his arms. "I could get used to being carried around," she told him.

John pressed a kiss behind her ear, "I might be able to arrange that." John laid her in the bed before sliding in with her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, her back against his front. Jamie closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms. "So, who is my interrogator?"

"Huh?"

John chuckled, "When you came in, you told me to guess who my interrogator was. Who?"

Jamie turned in his arms so that she could see him, "Me. It was sorta my idea. I wasn't expecting Pike or Reed to back me up."

He ran his fingers though her hair, "Because of Nibiru?" She nodded. Jamie wasn't surprised that he knew that, he did spend the day on the ship and Scotty talks a lot.

There was a part of her that knew that John was aware of a lot of her actions, "I'm the only person you'll tell the truth to and we both know it. It'll be more like a conversation then an interrogation, though." He nodded and Jamie smiled, "So, how long have you been keeping tabs on me?"

He didn't even flinch, "Do you remember your first birthday at the academy?"

Jamie sighed, "Not really." She remembered going to a bar, getting black out drunk and waking up in her dorm without any memory of how she got there. Bones showed up that morning to tell her that the bartender saw someone help her but she didn't know who, "Oh my God. That was you?"

* * *

Stardate 2256.04 (January 4th, 2256)  
Delaney's Pub, the Tenderloin, San Francisco, Earth

'The universe hates me,' was the thought Jamie had all day. Pike tried to keep people away from her but then some jerks just had to shove the whole Kelvin thing in her face. She never thought about it before, mainly because to John it was just her birthday and not the day her dad died like it was to everyone else. When crawling in a hole didn't help, she decided to drink, a lot. One shot turned into two and then into ten and she stopped counting after that.

Her life sucked, the parent who loved her is dead, the brother who looked out for her is dead, the bitch who gave birth to her hates her guts and the man she loves ran away. She hates the high school drama that is the academy and wishes like hell that she could be done and go back to her real job. There was something about the work that she did that made her happy.

Maybe it was because people didn't bother her and they treated her with respect as an equal but doing that job meant taking this one, so she was stuck. "You've had enough, sweetie. I'll call a cab." The bartender was a nice guy and he was smoking hot, not that she'd go there but looking never hurt.

Why shouldn't she go there? If John didn't stick around, why should she waste her life waiting? God, she wished that John was here, he always made this day better. She missed him. Jamie was even willing to ignore whatever was going on between them for just a few minutes with the man who insisted on being her friend when they were kids. Well, she was a kid and he was friends with her brother but still. "Fuck," she mumbled. Jamie realized that she must be drunk outta her mind if she could admit to herself how much she misses John.

Someone attempted to help her to her feet, "I'm… fine."

The person chuckled, "No, you're not." The voice sounded oddly familiar but Jamie was too far gone to think about where she heard it. The man helped her into the cab and Jamie mumbled that she was in the academy before passing out. The next thing she registered was being carried into her dorm.

The man laid her on the bed and began pulling of her clothes, "Hey… don't do… that."

He chuckled, "Relax, I doubt you want to sleep in your jeans." He was right, she hated it. She was still trying to figure out why he was so familiar to her and how did he know which dorm was hers or the code to the door. Too much whiskey was biting her brain in the ass right now. He left her in her shirt and her panties before pulling the covers over her and pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. Jamie thought she heard him whisper, "Happy birthday, beautiful," like John always does but she couldn't be sure.

* * *

Stardate 2256.05 (January 5th, 2256)  
Cadet Second Class Jamison Kirk's Dorm, Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth

Jamie felt better then she thought she would when she woke up, the hypospray on the table next to her bed and the glass of water might've had something to do with it, "How, did I…?" She looked around for clues to how she got home but she couldn't remember. There was a buzz at her door and she knew who it was. "Come in, Bones."

He looked at her, "Derek comm'ed, said you left the bar with some guy." She looked at him with a blank stare. Bones rolled his eyes, "Derek is the bartender at Delaney's. And you know that."

Jamie chuckled, "Yep. I just like it when you get all riled up." He shook his head and ran his tricorder over her body, she let him. Bones reminded her of Sammy in a lot of ways. He was always looking out for her, even when neither of them wanted it. They both kept each other from giving up on the universe and Jamie made sure that he interacted with his daughter, even when his ex-wife made it impossible. It felt good using her hacking skills to help him have a conversation with his little girl.

"You're not as bad as I thought. No physical trauma, no sexual activity, you have a mild hangover but you have anti-nausea medication and a mild painkiller in your system. Looks like the person who got you home was a perfect gentleman. You might wanna grab a quick shower and get dressed, we have class and I want you to eat something."

Jamie nodded at her friend, "Yea, yea, I'm going." She wished like hell that she knew who brought her home, at least to thank him.

* * *

Stardate 2259.61 (March 2nd, 2259)  
Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

John didn't like this, mostly because he was enjoying reconnecting with Jamie, but he complied with the order from the admirals to show up. Jamie chuckled at the face he made when he got the message. Even though they were being watched, it helped that they were in Pike's office for this conversation. "What do they want to know?"

Jamie smiled, "They need to know everything you've got, Marcus isn't talking. Reed has granted me the highest security clearance, so hold nothing back. Let's start with your assignment."

John nodded, "I was sent undercover as an associate researcher at London's Starfleet Data Archive the East Annex in 2255. I served under Commander Erik Dietz, the Head of Research, although I spent much of my time working alone to collect, sort and analyze data retrieved from Federation members and Starfleet vessels. My SI assignment was to investigate Dietz and his team, which lead me to Marcus. He had been doing intensive weapons research and deep-space survey missions. In the middle of my investigation, I caught his attention and was 'recruited' to help create weapons. Lieutenant Yuki Sulu was assigned to assist me."

Jamie looked at him, "Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu's little sister, the engineer?"

He nodded, "Yes, imagine my surprise when I met your helmsman. She's very loyal to Section 31, her roommate at the academy was on Vulcan. I don't know what Marcus promised her. I do know that he had a plan to destroy Praxis. I made modifications to the torpedoes that Marcus had been working in order to get the specifications. You'd be impressed and appalled at the same time, they're a technological marvel but they violate half a dozen treaties. I also worked on the Vengeance and plans for another ship. A week ago, I realized that my messages to my SI handler weren't getting through, then Yuki tried to kill me. I took all the intel I could and fled. I would've come straight to you but you were on Nibiru. I didn't realize that you'd been demoted until we were on the Enterprise, I knew Marcus was behind it."

"Why'd you flee to Qo'noS?" Jamie was curious.

"I knew that in order for Marcus to start his war, it would have to start there. I figured that he would send a Federation vessel, I was correct in my assumption. The only way for him to be successful was to give Starfleet a reason for his war. I was counting on the commanding officer of the ship that he sent to stop long enough to talk with me. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I registered that it was you leading that away team."

She nodded, "Why did Harewood bomb the Kelvin Memorial Archive?"

John took a breath, "I don't know if I had to guess, defiance. The KMA was only on the surface levels. The sub-levels are classified, top-secret, Section 31. The 72 torpedoes that Marcus gave you are the last of them, the others were in that facility. Harewood destroyed a lot in that explosion but he may have saved more lives than he took. Other then the specs on the ship and the torpedoes, that's all I know."

Jamie nodded as Pike, Barnett, Reed, Johnson, Komack and Li entered the room. Jamie looked at them, "Any other questions, sirs, ma'am?"

"Why didn't you report any of this?" Komack is such an idiot. Sometimes, she wonders how the hell he became an admiral.

Jamie, gleefully, answered for John, "Oh, I know that one, we all do. Best case, Marcus makes something up, like he did. Worst case, he has him killed, like he almost did. We're talking about the man in charge of the whole fleet verses an intelligence officer. It's lose-lose situation."

Pike looked at her, "Like your no-win scenario?"

"No such thing as a no-win scenario," Jamie and John said it at the same time and some of the admirals couldn't contain their laughter.

"She hit you with that too, Harrison?" Pike asked. 

John shook his head, "Actually, her brother started that in honor of their father, sir. I may have adopted it, it's a good philosophy. Is there anything else you need from me?"

Reed shook his head, "Not at the moment but we may need to talk with you again."

John nodded, "Sir, if I may, I'd like to continue assisting the Enterprise crew with repairs and the disposition of the torpedoes."

Reed looked at her, "Your ship, your call, Kirk."

Jamie smirked, "You're always welcome on the Enterprise, Commander."

He nodded, "Thank you, ma'am. Oh, that's weird."

She smiled, "Never thought I'd outrank you?"

John looked at her, "No, but I'm not surprised. You have always been so much more than you appeared to be, just took you a while to see what I always saw… what I still see." If they weren't in Pike's office surrounded by admirals… Jamie had to kill that thought and she settled for simply thanking him. The admiralty went over a few more things with Jamie before letting them both go.

Jamie looked at John as they walked out of HQ, "Why are you staring at me?"

She smiled, "I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you in your dress uniform. It's a very good look. Very, very sexy."

He chuckled, "Is that so?"

Jamie nodded, "Yes. I'm finding it very hard not to have my way with you."

John smiled, "As soon as we get home, you can do whatever you please, beautiful." A few things ran through Jamie's mind at that statement, they needed to get home.


	5. Chapter 5

Stardate 2259.63 (March 4th, 2259)  
Weapons Bay, Engineering, USS Enterprise, Dock 27-Delta, Starbase One

"Alright… let's have it." Jamie and Bones had walked down to the weapons bay; this was the first chance she got to see the torpedoes up close.

John nodded, "These are Class twelve, advanced long-range torpedoes. They operate at a core temperature of three hundred and twenty-three degrees Celsius with an explosive yield of three hundred and twenty isotons and the explosive range of three hundred thousand kilometers."

John hit some commands into one of the panels on a torpedo and it opened, "The range of these torpedoes makes it possible, for example, for a starship to launch them from the edge of Klingon space and hit a designated target on Qo'noS. Now, the fun part; they were designed to be untraceable and undetectable to sensors. They can be beamed out but the inner casing shields the interior fuel compartment and the warhead payloads from being scanned."

Jamie was impressed, terrified and appalled, all at the same time. She looked at the inside of the torpedo, "Where's the warhead?"

John looked at her, "Already removed it, usually it's under the fuel compartment which had to be opened. It's always active and cannot be accessed directly. It's also tamper proof."

Bones, who was standing next to her shook his head, "How?"

John smiled, "It's was programmed to arm itself and automatically detonate in 30 seconds after unauthorized access is detected."

"What about rerouting the detonation processor?" Jamie asked.

John looked at her, "Good way to blow yourself up, they're protected against that. Cutting the fiber-optic cables is a bad idea as well."

Bones looked at the torpedo, "Is there anything to stop these things?"

John nodded and gripped the detonator processor, he gave it a yank and the whole torpedo shut down, "No one would ever think of that but I made sure that there was a way to manually disable the detonator."

Jamie didn't like having six dozen bombs on the ship, this was the last one. Jamie wanted to see a torpedo that John, Spock, Carol and Scotty hadn't taken apart already. Jamie stepped closer to the mostly disarmed weapon, "God, these things are so… illegal."

"Yes, they are. I haven't even told you the best part, yet," John chuckled.

"Which is?" she asked.

Spock spoke up from behind her, "The weapon system designed for the torpedoes have a stealth function that can be activated via remote signal after launch."

Jamie looked at her first officer, "Isn't that a violation of the Treaty of Algeron?"

Spock looked at her, "Yes, Captain, it is." The Romulans and the Federation entered into the Treaty of Algeron, it banned the use of cloaked weapons by either side. She can admit that she did find the torpedoes impressive but she couldn't see the need for these weapons.

"It gets better, lass. They've only been tested in computer simulations. Now, they functioned as they were supposed to in the tests but our mission would have been the first real combat situation for the weapons," Scotty was not a happy camper, not that she could blame him.

Like all other photon torpedoes, these ran on their own miniaturized drives. It was this new drive system that rendered the torpedo untraceable. When they were brought on the ship, Scotty –and Jamie- was concerned that when the drive of one of the torpedoes was activated, it would interfere with the ship's warp drive.

Depending on the configuration, there could be a shift in the magnetic field creating an interaction with the ship's warp containment. Any such interference would be catastrophic.

Carol stepped forward, "I verified that the internal guidance systems of the torpedoes were online and updated with the latest mapping coordinates. I think it's safe to assume that my father was planning to use them in non-Federation space."

Bones looked at both women, "I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but can someone explain that to me?"

John nodded, "Of course, Doctor. Coordinate targeting of the torpedoes is accomplished via automatic geophysical positioning. Similar to how the ship recognizes where it is. These weapons technically know where they were and where they're going when activated."

Bones nodded, "Thanks. I don't know about the rest of ya'll but I'm glad you took the damn things apart. No good can come from them."

John smiled at her friend, "It could be worse... at least Marcus gave them to the Enterprise instead of shooting them at the Enterprise. A single salvo would've torn this ship apart." Jamie said the same thing to Pike the day they got back.

She shook her head, "Can you imagine if we used these?"

Bones looked at her, "Guess it's a good thing that Pike was playing from the Jamie Kirk playbook, otherwise we'd all be dead." Jamie and John shared a look, wouldn't be the first time they've almost died.

* * *

Stardate 2251.231 (August 19th, 2251)  
Location: Unknown

"Look at me. Jamison, look at me."

She blinked her eyes open, "Johnny. I'm fading out over here."

He shook his head, "Like hell, you are. Focus on me. I need you tell me how bad that wound is." She was stabbed through the shoulder and was bleeding pretty bad.

"I think he nicked my subclavian artery." That artery feeds oxygenated blood to the shoulder area below the collarbone. Hopefully, they'll get out of here soon because if she bleeds out, she could lose her arm or die.

John took a breath, "I know it hurts but there's nothing we can do about it. You have to stay calm, slow your breathing and your pulse so you don't bleed as fast." Jamie nodded and looked around the room they were in. They were both hanging from a bar in what appeared to be some kind of warehouse. It's always a damn warehouse. Jamie was trying to figure out a way to get them free when two of their captors entered the room.

"Well, you're both awake. Here's how this is gonna go, I'm gonna ask questions and you're gonna answer them. If you refuse or lie, my friend will have to harm you," the man told them

"What would you like to know?" John asked.

The man looked at him, "Let's start with your real name."

"Jackson Harris," John told them. Their interrogator looked at large man in the corner, who stepped forward and touched a shockstik to John's side. It looked like it hurt, a lot.

The man asked again, "Your name?"

"Jeffery Singer... maybe," John offered. The big guy shocked him again.

The man turned to her, "Your name?"

She glared at him, "Does it matter? You'll hurt me anyway." He looked at his large sidekick and nodded, the man touched the shockstik to her hip and God, did that shit hurt.

"My, you two are tough; perhaps we should increase the voltage. I've got all night." She shook her head but didn't say anything. She knew that he didn't have all night, Jamie and John were the recon team, the strike team was en route. All they had to do was hold out until the others got there.

The shockstik was eventually replaced with a knife; Jamie was really gonna kill this guy. The man kept asking them the same question, John gave his answer and Jamie refused to talk at all. She was fading out by the time the man and his big friend left the room.

"Jamison. Jamison are you still with me?" John asked her, his voice had taken on a slightly panicked tone.

She moaned, "Yea… I'm not dead yet." He chuckled; she could hear the pain he was in.

"We need to get out of here." As soon as he said it, they heard a scuffle and weapons fire.

Jamie sighed, "The calvary has arrived."

"You guys are a mess," she heard Hunter say.

"Her first, Ken. Careful with her shoulder." She felt herself being lifted into the big officer's arms before being handed off to someone and then she blacked out.

* * *

Stardate 2251.234 (August 22nd, 2251)  
Classified Starfleet Intelligence Base, Codename: Eden, Location:Unknown

Jamie woke with a start. "Careful, you've been out for a few days," John whispered.

She looked around the room before she looked at him, "I'm guessing we won."

He nodded, "Hunter killed our _interrogator_. I think we owe him one."

"I always liked him, he's just my brand of crazy," she said. John gave her a look but didn't say anything, she knew what he was thinking anyway. 'He's not good enough for you.' It's what he always says to her when she shows even a little interest in someone. She laughs him off most of the time but there are the occasions when she says that he's the reason that guys avoid her. John just laughs and tells her that if they really thought she was worth it, they'd ignore him and talk to her anyway. She could understand his logic but she wasn't gonna tell him that.

"How bad?"

He looked at her, "My injuries were minor, but you were a few hours from bleeding to death. We got lucky, beautiful."

She shook her head and took his hand, "We're not lucky, we're just that good."

* * *

Stardate 2259.74 (March 15th, 2259)  
Captain Jamison Kirk's Apartment, Mission Bay, San Francisco, Earth

"You're staring at me." She shrugged, John had just gotten out of the shower and Jamie was captivated. She was mesmerized by his eyes that see straight to your soul and he was in amazing shape; she could see his muscles shift as he moved and his ass should be illegal. John is just sexy. It was taking every ounce of self-control she had not to lick the water off his skin.

She took a breath, "I have a nice view."

John laughed and looked at her, "Well, so do I." She rolled her eyes; Jamie literally just rolled out of bed and she was wearing one of John's shirts.

"What are you doing, Johnny?"

A sexy smile curved his lips as he wrapped his arms around her, his mouth against her neck, "Kissing you." He tangled his hand in her hair and brought their lips together.

God, he was like a drug, addicting and consuming. Jamie deepened the kiss as she tugged the towel off his body, it was achingly clear that she had too many clothes on. John slowly unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing and let it drop to the floor, she heard him hiss when he realized that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. "You should never wear clothes… at least around me, beautiful."

Jamie felt herself blush all over and laughed, "Stop. I'm just…"

He shook his head, "Gorgeous," kiss, "stunning," kiss, "breath-taking," kiss, "hot," kiss. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're beautiful? I don't just call you that for no reason." She locked her eyes with his, he was dead serious, "I'm in awe of you, Jamison. I always have been."

She cut off anything else he could've said by crushing her lips to his. Jamie pulled him onto the bed, "Oh no you don't. You're going to let someone else be in charge." John quickly took the lead. She closed her eyes as he kissed and nibbled her already sensitive skin, driving her crazy. He mapped her body with his hands, his lips and his tongue… good God, his tongue. Jamie didn't know which way was up, she felt like her whole body was on fire.

She whispered his name as he slid into with one sure, deep thrust. He pulled away then thrust into her again; she could feel him quiver. Jamie lifted her hips to meet him again and again, the tension and heat rising in her until it was almost too much for her to handle. John touched his forehead to hers and whispered her name. John was usually in control but here he was, close to falling apart because of her. He moved faster and she moved with him. Jamie felt herself tremble, she was so gone and so was John; a few more thrusts and they both shattered into a million pieces.

She ran her hands over his hot skin, "Are we ever gonna get this out of our systems?"

John chuckled, "I sincerely hope not."

Jamie smiled, "I told you taking that shower was a waste."

"I disagree. I quite enjoyed the look on your face when I walked in here," John said against her collarbone.

There was something else on his mind, "Spill, Johnny."

He flipped them both over so that she was on top of him, "I want to ask you something."

"Oh, please, you can ask me anything, you know that."

He took a breath, "Willyougooutwithme?"

Jamie chuckled, he was so stinking adorable sometimes, "I didn't catch that, could you run it by me again?"

He looked at her, "Will you go out with me?"

Jamie smiled, "That only took you two weeks. You think I'll say no, don't you?"

"Yes. I know I should know better but…" he started.

She touched his face, "You weren't sure. Well, the answer is yes, I would love to go out with you. Just promise me that it will be nothing like my first date."

John chuckled, "With Percy... I remember that."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "Yea, so do I."

* * *

Stardate 2246.12 (January 12th, 2246)  
Kirk Residence, Carson Manner Neighborhood, Tarsus Four Colony

"Maybe I should've said no." Jamie was nervous, Percy asked her out and she reluctantly said yes. She's never really been normal but her aunt told her that thirteen years old was a perfectly good time to go on a first date. Jamie wasn't so sure but she agreed to go if it meant that her aunt smiled like that again. Jamie was wearing a dress –a freaking dress- for this date and she felt so uncomfortable.

"Don't tell me you're nervous." She smiled at the voice, John always seemed to have a calming effect on her.

"Never done this before… and I don't know if anyone noticed but I'd prefer jeans," she told him. John chuckled and stepped into the room. He was helping her uncle and Sam with some project in her uncle's workshop.

"Well, you look beautiful as always, Jamison."

She looked at him, "Really?"

He nodded, "Really."

She took a breath, "Thanks, Johnny."

He smiled, "You're welcome. Come on, I think I hear your date... and your brother." The pair walked to the entryway and into a conversation between Percy and Sam.

"Look, little dude, I like you but she's my sister. If anything happens to her, anything at all you'll have to deal with me."

"And me," John said from next to her. Aunt Marie was on the other side of the room snickering at Sam's 'macho man' display.

Sam nodded at his friend before looking at Percy again, "We clear?"

Percy nodded, "We're clear."

"Good," Sam said before he looked at his sister, "You look nice, sis. Have fun." He kissed her on the top of her head and shared a look with John, Jamie knew that they were gonna be shadowing her date but she doubted that Percy figured it out.

"Wow, Jamie… you look great," Percy told her.

She smiled, "Thanks, Percy. You look nice, too. You ready?" He nodded and offered her his arm.

They weren't going very far so they walked with Uncle Jim to the small theater. After selecting a movie and getting popcorn, her uncle left them alone.

"So…"

Jamie looked at Percy and shrugged, "So." The movie hadn't started yet but there wasn't much for the pair to talk about. It was weird… it was beyond weird. Jamie glanced around and spotted Sam and John in the back, watching her date. She wanted to be mad but she couldn't be.

The movie started; some romantic comedy. Percy seemed to be into it but Jamie wasn't. She touched the back of her head before making a gesture to her brother that she was bored and dropping her hand in her lap.

After the movie they stopped for ice cream and that's where Uncle Jim met them. Percy insisted on getting her home first.

"We don't make a very good couple, do we?" Percy asked her as they walked to her front door.

She shook her head, "Nope." It's not that she didn't like him, he was her friend, he just wasn't her type.

He nodded, "Well, at least I gave it a shot. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Jamie nodded, "Yea. Night, Percy." They gave each other a quick hug and her uncle walked him to his house down the street. "You two can come out," she told her brother and John.

"That was the lamest…"

She stopped her brother, "Don't. It was okay." Sam shook his head and ran into the house, no doubt to steal some of the cookies that Aunt Marie was working on earlier.

Jamie sat on the steps and John sat down next to her, "You know, Percy doesn't know you very well if that's what he picked for your first date."

She looked at him, "We're only thirteen, I didn't expect much."

He shook his head, "There are things that even thirteen year olds can do. Besides, anyone who knows you knows that you prefer action movies. I don't know what that movie was but I think I lost brain cells."

Jamie laughed, "Okay. What would you do if you were going on a date with someone like me?"

John looked at her, "Well, for starters, there is no one like you, Jamison." He then proceeded to describe his 'perfect date' and Jamie could admit that it was right up her alley.

* * *

Stardate 2259.79 (March 20th, 2259)  
Downtown San Francisco, Earth

"One more?"

She nodded, "Go for it."

They were playing tourists, taking holos of the city and each other and discovering things about San Francisco that they wouldn't otherwise know about. It was fun exploring the city with him.

"Why don't you let me take it?" an older man offered. "Go ahead, son and get over there with your wife." John didn't correct him, he just nodded and handed the holo-imager to the man.

She smiled as he walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. They both looked at each other for a second before turning their attention to the man. He took a few holos of them before handing the imager back.

Jamie smiled at him, "Thank you, sir."

He smiled, "You're welcome, Captain. Don't worry… I won't tell."

John shook the man's hand, "Thank you, she likes to keep me to herself."

The man's wife chuckled, "Smart girl."

The old couple went about their day and Jamie looked at John, "That's adorable. You think we'll end up like that?"

"I hope so," John with a smile. They looked at at the holos the man took. In the first one he caught them gazing at each other, there was so much love that it almost hurt. The second one showed two very happy people, Jamie almost didn't recognize herself, she looked more her age than she ever has. Her face was lit from within and her eyes sparkled.

"Is this how you see me?" she didn't mean to ask out loud but she did.

John nodded, "I told you, you're beautiful. Come on."

She gave him a look, "You still haven't told me what's next."

He nodded, "It's a surprise, relax."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "You know, it's your birthday, I should be giving you surprises."

John shook his head, "I already got what I want this year."

Jamie wasn't a huge fan of surprises and John knew that but she trusted him too much to let it bother her. He smiled, "Ladies." Jamie followed his line of sight and found herself looking at Uhura, Gaila, Christine and Carol.

The four officers waved at them; Uhura spoke first, "Hi, Jamie and John."

Jamie greeted her officers before looking at John, "Okay… now I'm really lost."

He smirked, "Just have fun and I'll see you soon." He gave her a lingering kiss before sharing a look with Uhura and leaving Jamie with the other girls.

"What… but… He's up to something, isn't he?" They all nodded at her question. "You guys know what's up?" They all nodded again. Jamie took a breath, "Are you gonna tell me?" They all slowly shook their heads. "Can you at least tell me where we're going right now?"

Gaila giggled, "Shopping, silly." Of course they were. Her Orion friend was practically bouncing and Jamie had a good idea why, "On John's tab and he told you to get something for yourselves?"

They all nodded and Christine looked at her, "We agreed to help with this before he told us to get something... just FYI."

The Tarsus Four survivors were all granted reparations for their experience, add to that the life insurance that some families –including the Kirks and the Harrisons- had and some of the survivors, like Jamie and John, were well taken care of. Neither of them really cared about it too much and aside from the house that they equally own on Betazed, they never really used those credits. Jamie knew that he could care less what the girls brought themselves.

* * *

"Anyone want to tell me what I'm looking for?" Jamie asked her friends, they were in a high-end shop looking at dresses.

"No," came four different voices. They each pulled out something different and pushed her into a changing room. Carol's pick was first, it was a floor-length red dress with thin straps to hold it up.

Jamie stepped out, "No." It was pretty but she was not feeling it. "I bet it'll look better on you than me, Carol."

The weapons expert shook her head, "I couldn't." Jamie looked at her, "Try it on. I'll invent a reason for you to need it if I have to." Carol reluctantly agreed and Jamie handed her the dress over the door. The second dress was from Christine, it was blue with a shimmer that had a halter-cut top and stopped at her knees.

Jamie shrugged, "It's nice…"

They all looked at her and Christine shook her head, "We don't want 'nice' we want 'wow'."

Up next was Gaila, Jamie expected something crazy and Gaila didn't disappoint, there was no way to describe the crazy gold foil thing and none of them tried to. Jamie gave Gaila a look, "What? I'd wear it."

Jamie chuckled, "All yours." The last dress Uhura picked out.

"Oh my God. That's the one, Jamie," Gaila said from next to her.

She looked in the mirror and she couldn't believe her eyes, "Wow." It was a turquoise lace dress with an illusion neckline and tiny silver beads sown into it. It was fitted on her torso and flared out at her hips, stopping at her knees.

"He's gonna devour you," nobody was expecting that from Carol but Jamie knew she was right.

"You guys still haven't filled me in."

Uhura smiled, "We were sworn to secrecy, Jamie."

She nodded, "You guys know I don't like being kept in the dark."

They all laughed and Carol looked at her, "I may be the newest member of this group but even I know that you're a control freak… it's a command officer trait that can't be taught, it's just part of who you all are."

Jamie looked at her and chuckled, "Fair enough. Are we done?"

Gaila nodded, "Yep. I picked your shoes… no you can't see them. We need to get back to your place so you can get ready."

* * *

Stardate 2259.79 (March 20th, 2259)  
Captain Jamison Kirk's Apartment, Mission Bay, San Francisco, Earth

After a shower and an argument with Gaila over her hair in which she mostly won, it was time to get dressed. The dress was paired with sparkly silver shoes. Her hair was in a low side ponytail and her makeup was minimal. Bones, Scotty, and Spock had showed up at some point and were talking shop with Carol and Christine when she walked into the room behind Uhura and Gaila, "Well?"

The three men looked at her, Spock was the first to speak, "You are exceptionally aesthetically pleasing, Jim."

Bones nodded his agreement, "Yea… what the hobgoblin said."

Scotty shook his head, "Harrison is one lucky lad."

Jamie smiled, "Thank you, guys. I'm nervous, I feel like a kid going to prom… not that I'd know. I never went to prom." They all chuckled, except for Spock, but that was normal.

A moment later the door buzzed and Gaila opened it to find Sulu and Chekov on the other side, "Ve didn't miss it, did ve?" She shook her head at the young Russian and let them into the apartment.

Their favorite helmsman gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek, "You look amazing. You always do but this is… wow." She loves Sulu. He's that crazy brother who's willing to do insane shit with you just because he can.

"Thanks, Hikaru." Less than a minute later, the door buzzed again. Gaila grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room, "What are you...?"

The Orion looked at Jamie, "Just trust me. Give the guys a minute to give him the 'big brother speech'… listen." Jamie did as she was told and heard Bones and Scotty give John a similar threat to the one that Sam and John gave Percy before her first date. Then Gaila told her to go.

She stopped short when she saw him, "Oh my God." John was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a black shirt and a silver tie.

"Jamison," he said it like a prayer. She had to swallow the lump in her throat before squeaking out, "John."

"Well, holy hell. Jamison Kirk is speechless. I can't wait to comm my mama," she heard Bones say. The others laughed but she wasn't paying them any attention. Uhura promised to clear everyone out of her apartment before Scotty comm'ed the ship and the elegantly dressed couple was promptly beamed out.

* * *

 

Stardate 2259.79 (March 20th, 2259)  
San Francisco Theater, San Francisco, Earth

Jamie smiled when she realized where they were, "How did you…?"

He smirked, "I asked. Your friends love you, not as much as I do but still. To answer the question that's been on your mind all day, we're seeing your favorite play." Jamie smiled, A Midsummer Night's Dream was classic Shakespeare and she loved it.

"Johnny."

He looked at her, "Yes, beautiful?"

She took a breath, "I love you." What else could she say? She'd shout it from the rooftops if it would help but he was the only person who needed to know. She was sure that he already did but everyone needs to hear the words sometimes.

He smiled, "I love you too." John pressed a soft kiss to her lips before he offered her his arm and they walked into the theater together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Benedict Cumberbatch is all kinds of yummy... dressed up and undressed, just saying.


	6. Chapter 6

Stardate 2259.186 (July 5th, 2259)  
Admiral Christopher Pike's Office, Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"You wanted to see me, Admiral, Captain." They both smiled at John.

Jamie nodded, "We did, Commander, have a seat." Jamie never calls John into anyone's office but she needed to talk to him… well, Captain Kirk needed to talk to Commander Harrison. She's spent the last week recruiting for the Enterprise and he was on the list.

Officially, the ship needed a tactical officer since she held the job –for a day- as Pike's XO and she shared the duties with Sulu and Chekov before that. Unofficially, she just wanted John on the ship… she's only human after all. Pike was letting her use his office to hold what was essentially a bunch of interviews to replace the crew members they lost when Marcus shot them out of warp a blew a big ass hole in the side of the engineering section of the ship.

Given the length of their upcoming mission, she didn't want to have empty billets and while filling in gaps in the roster was necessary, making some reassignments was also a good idea, especially for something like tactical officer.

"As you're no doubt aware, the Enterprise is slated to leave for a five year mission at the beginning of next year. I want to offer you a position on the ship, if you're interested."

John looked at her, "What's the billet, ma'am?" Jamie did a good job over the last few months of not talking about work when they were together.

"Chief Tactical Officer. I also have the need for an Intelligence Officer," she told him. John looked at her then Pike, who smirked. Jamie was a little worried that he'd say no and return to SI. Reed kept offering him assignments and while he had yet to take any of them, Jamie figured that he was waiting for the right one.

John took a breath and smiled, "I'm in, Captain."

She looked at him, "You sure? Enterprise has a habit of getting into trouble."

He smiled, "I'm still in, ma'am."

"Good. Commander Spock will fill you in on all the details. Since you're already working on the ship, it'll be more of the same until we get closer to leaving. Got any questions for me?"

He shook his head, "No, ma'am."

She smiled, "You're free to go, Commander."

He nodded, "Yes, Ma'am. Sir." John left the room and even though his back was to her, she could feel the smirk on his face. As soon as he was gone, Pike burst into laughter.

Jamie looked at him, "Really, Chris?"

The admiral nodded, "I get why you had to do the official interview with him… so nobody could claim favoritism but watching you two is hilarious. You were both doing your damnedest not to rip each other's clothes off. It's funny."

She gave her mentor and friend a look, "I can't deny that. You know… there are some people who think that the reason you let me use your office is so we could rip each other's clothes off, Chris. Just saying."

It was just part of being a pretty girl who was promoted to Captain at twenty-five years old; people think you did something other than your job to get there.

"Yea, well, you're more like my daughter or niece… I would never, ever, go there… even before Harrison showed up. It would just be weird... and I'm too old for you."

* * *

2258.51 (February 20th, 2258)  
Admiral Richard Barnett's Office Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"The board has decided to uphold your field promotion." She looked at the admiral as he delivered that gem of information.

"That's just great, I can see it now, sir. 'Captain Kirk, promoted because of her name and her… _assets_.' People, including everyone else who wants the Enterprise, are gonna have a field day with this. I mean, half the academy is convinced that I'm an idiot and the other half thinks that I'm sleeping with you or Pike… or both of you at the same time." She didn't pay much attention to the rumors, she was there to do a job. She weeded out the shadow group in the academy and even though it took her a while, staying at the academy was more to maintain her 'cover' than anything else.

"Your real record and your academy records are being corrected as we speak. Your involvement with SI will remain classified but the fact that you're actually a Lieutenant Commander and not a Cadet/Lieutenant will be part of the file. You've been in Starfleet for ten years, Kirk, the detractors can say what they want."

She liked Barnett, it might have something to do with the fact that he knew who she really was and didn't give her any crap about her dad. It might also have to do with the fact that he's a good person and a damn good officer.

He gave her a look, "You saved the world, Kirk. If anyone thinks that you don't deserve to be promoted on that fact alone, they can come see me."

Jamie smiled, "You mean that, sir?"

He nodded, "Every word. And don't let those rumors about Chris get to you… he'll tell you himself that he's not that lucky." She couldn't help herself, she laughed. It's been a stressful few weeks to say the least; Vulcan was destroyed, Pike was still in the hospital, the Enterprise was technically still under her command and now she was being promoted to Captain.

"Next, you're gonna tell me that I get to keep the Enterprise." She expected him to chuckle at that but he looked at her, "It's not official but it is an idea that's being passed around. Don't tell anyone." Jamie looked at him wide-eyed, "Well… shit."

* * *

2258.51 (February 20th, 2258)  
Lieutenant Commander Jamison Kirk's Dorm, Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth

After a chat with Barnett and stopping by the cafeteria to grab something to eat, because Bones would hypo her into next week if she didn't, Jamie went back to her dorm. It was weird to say the least; the place was empty.

The class of 2258 was supposed to be the third largest graduating class in academy history, now it was the smallest class since the Federation was founded. Jamie walked into her room and hung her cadet red jacket on the back of her desk chair. She kicked off her boots and laid on the bed… she was exhausted.

It's one thing to be in intelligence and only have a small team to worry about but to be in command of a starship full of cadets and refuges during a crisis was a bit much, even for her. 'At least most of them came home in one piece' was the thought on her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Jim, wake up."

She bolted upright, "What… Bones, what's wrong?"

He shook his head, "I've been trying to comm you, Pike's asking for you."

She nodded, "I must be more tired than I thought."

He chuckled, "No kidding. If you think I didn't notice that you weren't sleeping while we were on the ship then you thought wrong." Jamie chuckled at her friend but stopped when a box on her desk caught her eye. She didn't recognize it and it wasn't there before.

"What's that?" the grumpy doctor asked.

Jamie shrugged and opened it; on top was a note. 'Congratulations on your promotion. Not bad, beautiful.' It wasn't signed but she knew that handwriting better than her own. Jamie looked in the small box and smirked.

"A knife… someone sent you a knife?"

She chuckled at the look in his face, "It's a KA-BAR, Bones. My name is engraved on it." It had a black handle and a black blade with 'Jamison' engraved into the heel of the knife. There was also a sheath with it; she knew without thinking about it that it would fit on her leg, under her boot where she wears the other one. Jamie tested the weight in her hand; it was about the same as the knife she already carries.

"Who would send you a knife?"

She smiled, "My oldest friend."

Bones gave her a look, "I thought you didn't have any friends except for me and Pike."

"I never said that I didn't have friends, I said I don't have many… the person who sent me this, he's the one I've had the longest."

Bones gave her a look, "Why haven't I met him?"

Jamie chuckled, "He works as much as we do and he's usually off-planet. You'll meet him one day… I hope." It was a lame answer but it was mostly true. She honestly had no idea where John was but judging by the fact that he was in her dorm while she was sleeping, it's safe to assume that he was somewhere in San Francisco… if only for a little while. He probably should've woken her but maybe it was better that he didn't. She looked at her friend, "So, you said Pike wants to see me."

* * *

Stardate 2259.189 (July 8th, 2259)  
Captain Jamison Kirk's Apartment, Mission Bay, San Francisco, Earth

"You ready?" Jamie asked the little girl next to her.

Joanna nodded, "Ready, Aunt Jim. Let's get him." The pair counted to three, then they jumped up and started shooting darts at John. He tried to dodge but he was no match for them. "Get him… get him," Joanna said.

The little girl landed a good shot at his chest and John gave them an over-dramatic death, "Oh, Joanna… how could you…?" He 'fell' to the living room floor and closed his eyes.

Joanna burst into laughter, "He's almost as good as daddy is at being killed by us. You can get up, Mister John. We win."

He opened his eyes, "That's not fair, Jamison… you brought in a ringer. Maybe McCoy and I should team up."

Jamie shrugged, "We'd still take you down. Right, Jo?"

The young McCoy nodded, "Yep. Aunt Jim says that we're awesome… no matter what anybody says. We can take you, Mister John and daddy is a big softy when I'm around. We'd win."

Jamie laughed, the look on John's face was priceless, "I'm telling your father that you said that, little one."

Jamie laughed harder, "I said that to him one day… that's where she got it from. It's the truth, you gotta watch them for a while, little Miss Joanna has Bones wrapped around her finger." Jamie could admit that Joanna had Jamie wrapped around her finger too.

"Is Miss Carol nice?" Joanna asked out of nowhere.

"Of course she is. Bonesy wouldn't have asked her out if she wasn't. I'm sure she can't wait to spend some time with you," Jamie told the little girl.

Bones and Carol were on a date, that's how Jamie and John ended up babysitting Joanna. Pike helped Bones fight for more access to his daughter while they were in the academy, so Bones got to spend a lot of time with her when he was on planet. Everyone with eyes could see the attraction to Carol and he kept stalling until Joanna was visiting for a few weeks. He tried to pull the whole 'my daughter's in town' excuse and Joanna shot him down by telling him to go out anyway. Jamie volunteered to babysit the coolest kid in the world and here they all were.

"Carol is nice and she's really smart," John added.

Joanna smiled, "Okay… just making sure she wasn't like mom."

Jamie laughed, she had to. Bones' ex-wife, Jocelyn, is such a bitch that it's not even funny. Jamie can't be in the same room with the woman because she's always slinging insults. The stuff she says to and about Jamie doesn't bother her but the insults to Bones makes Jamie want to rip the woman's throat out.

Jocelyn was so bad that Joanna, who is only ten years old, didn't like her own mother's attitude. It was something that Jamie could relate to and maybe that's why Jamie and Joanna connected. The little girl loved her like she's been family her whole life and Jamie was determined to make sure that Joanna was around someone who was even a little motherly. She didn't even realize that she was doing it until Bones told her. John wasn't surprised with Bones dropped Joanna off and the girl jumped into her arms, he just commented that she's always had a way with kids.

* * *

Stardate 2246.129 (May 09th, 2246)  
Caves outside the Tarsus Four Colony

"You gotta sleep guys." Jamie ran her hand though Kevin's hair. He and some of the other kids were having trouble sleeping. For the first few days, they were so tired that it was easy to get them some sleep but now the nightmares and hunger were beginning to keep them awake. Jamie tried to tell them stories but it wasn't helping.

Sam looked at her, "Sing a song, Jimmy."

She looked at him, "I can't sing, Sammy, you said so yourself… I sound like a drowning rat."

He chuckled softy as not to wake up the few that were sleeping, "It might help, sis." She took a breath and tried to think of a song, she picked one that Sam used to sing to her all the time back on Earth.

"Okay… just… here goes. ' _Be still and know that I'm with you, Be still and know that I am here, Be still and know that I'm with you, Be still, be still, and know…'"_ As she sang, Kevin and the others began to drift off. Jamie took a breath, "Okay.

She was gonna stop but Sam spoke up, "Keep going, I'll sing it with you."

Jamie nodded at her brother and together, they sang the next verse of the song together, "' _If terror falls upon your bed, And sleep no longer comes, Remember all the words I said, Be still, be still, and know…'"_ By now, all the kids had drifted off to sleep, Sam and Jamie finished the song, "' _If you forget the way to go, And lose where you came from, If no one is standing beside you, Be still and know I am… Be still and know that I'm with you, Be still and know I am_.' I can't believe that worked."

Sam nodded, "It always put you to sleep, I figured it was worth a shot. You should get some rest, Jimmy." He went to stand near the opening of the cave to keep watch.

"You don't sound that bad."

She looked over to where John leaning against a rock and rolled her eyes, "I sound horrible but you're sweet for saying that I don't."

He shook his head, "You won't win any awards but you don't sound like a 'drowning rat' as you described it."

Jamie sat down next to him and shook her head, "We'll just have to agree to disagree."

He nodded, "If you say so, Jamison. Get some sleep." She snuggled in between John and Tommy before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Stardate 2259.191 (July 10th, 2259)  
Liz's Café, the Embarcadero, San Francisco, Earth

"So… Jo likes John."

Jamie looked at her friend, "Yes, and John likes Jo. It's really cute, but you brought it up for a reason. Wanna fill me in, Bones?"

"Nothing… she just asked me if you were gonna marry him," he told her.

Jamie laughed, "God, I swear sometimes I think your kid is more… me than you. You can tell her that I don't know. There aren't any plans at the moment."

It was something that Jamie was not even running through her head. She was never the girl who sat around dreaming about her wedding. In this day and age, it wasn't even that big of a deal. There was paperwork that Pike had them fill out for Starfleet when he realized that they were together but they hadn't gone beyond that. There wasn't really a need to, they were just them, they'll do what feels right _when_ it feels right.

Bones had his nerve. She smirked, "You know, she asked us about you and Carol. Give her a few weeks and she'll be asking for your wedding."

Bones shook his head, "We're taking it slow, Jim. If, and that's a big if, we get married, it'll be a long, long time from now. You and Harrison, on the other hand, have a decade and a half of history… there's no reason why you shouldn't."

Jamie looked at him, "Actually, there are a few why we shouldn't… none of them have anything to do with us, but still. If we ever decide to get married, I'll let you know. Now, back to you and Carol. Tell me how it went."

Bones told Jamie about his date with the weapons expert, they went so see a classic movie –which Carol loves- before having dinner. Jamie smiled as she listened to her grumpy doctor, it was good seeing him happy.

* * *

Stardate 2259.192 (July 11th, 2259)  
Captain Jamison Kirk's Apartment, Mission Bay, San Francisco, Earth

Jamie was woken by a noise; she looked at John, who must have heard it too because he looked at her and placed a finger to her lips. She glanced at the chronometer; it was two in the morning. There was another noise, Jamie made a motion with her hand, 'we need to move' before they both, quietly, slid out of bed.

Seriously? Who would be dumb enough to break into her apartment? She's _The_ Captain Jamie Kirk, the woman who fought Romulans and saved the planet. There are a lot of things that Jamie can tolerate but someone in her home wasn't one of them.

She and John positioned themselves so that they couldn't be seen, when both intruders entered the bedroom, they struck. John grabbed the man in front and Jamie grabbed the other. They both put up a fight and Jamie knew that they were there to kill them. It brought a bunch of questions to mind. She didn't have time to think about it as the moment, she had an intruder to take care of.

This person kept trying to predict what she was gonna do, like he had been given information on her. Unfortunately for him, Jamie is notorious for switching fighting styles in the middle of a fight. To the untrained eye, it looks like she doesn't know what she's doing but that was the point. She got her intruder down and looked over at John.

"You're bleeding, Johnny."

He looked down at his side, "It's not too bad."

He pulled the hood off the man he knocked out and Jamie did the same, "You recognize them?"

John nodded, "I don't know their names but I've seen them before, they're Section 31. We should probably wake up Reed and Pike."

She nodded as she grabbed a towel and pressed it to his side, "I'll do it." Jamie did not like waking either man up, but once she told them why, she was glad that she did. She also comm'ed Bones, who grumbled but told her that he'd be right over. The Admirals and the doctor all showed up at the same time, with her favorite security officers. "Hey, Cupcake."

John looked at her, "Why do you call him that?"

She shrugged, "It used to be an insult but now it's a term of endearment."

The burly officer looked at her, "Are you okay, Captain?"

She nodded, "Yea, Hendorff, we're okay. Sorry they woke you up."

He shook his head, "Someone attacked my Captain in her home, I'd pissed if no one comm'ed me. My team will get them out of here." She heard the growl he put into the last sentence.

"Don't kill them, Greg," she told him.

Cupcake nodded, "We won't kill them, ma'am… I can't promise anything beyond that. Especially from Zahra and Kai." She looked at the two officers and she could see how pissed off they were.

Unlike a lot of officers, Jamie loved her security team. She never saw them as a collection of redshirts to be used as phaser fodder. She has fought beside them and got herself hurt protecting these officers, especially her top four. Hendorff and Edwards were in the academy with her, Kai and Zahra served on other ships before getting assigned to the Enterprise when Nero attacked.

They were all insanely loyal to her because she was loyal to them. Kai told her about how his last CO didn't care about the security officers one bit but Jamie knew them all, she talked to them, learned about their lives and families, worked out with them and valued their opinions in the field; to Jamie, they were just as important as Spock, Bones and the other senior staff members. As Kai and Edwards cuffed the Section 31 operatives, Jamie almost felt bad for them… almost.

Zahra walked over to her, doing a visual scan of the young Captain. "I'm fine, Z."

The security officer nodded, "I'm glad to hear it, ma'am, but you should still let doc look you over when he's done with Harrison, just in case." Jamie wasn't gonna argue with Zahra, she was scarier than Bones sometimes.

She just nodded, "We all know Bones will insist. Don't do too much damage, we're gonna need to talk to them."

Zahra took a steadying breath, "We'll… _try_ not to hurt them too bad, Captain. I'm glad you two are okay." With that, the security team, Admiral Reed and the two intruders were beamed out.

"Your crew scares the hell outta me, kid."

She looked over at Pike, "They were your crew too."

He shook his head, "I was the CO but they were never really mine. You know, you guys can't stay here."

Jamie looked out the window, "I'm not leaving."

Bones shook his head as he finished with John, "Don't be stupid, Jim."

She took a breath, she was about to respond but John did it for her, "She doesn't want to be run out of her home, again. It's bad enough that the Enterprise is still in the dock but now her apartment." Jamie just nodded, he was right.

Bones rolled his eyes, "It's just an apartment."

John shook his head, "Your place is just an apartment because you have a home to go back to, this is her home."

Jamie had a thought, "Bet they went through the place on Betazed."

John nodded and stood in front of her, "Jamison. It's just a house, if we have to fix it, we will. As Johnny, I'll stay with you no matter where you are but as your tactical officer, I have to advice against staying here, it's not tactically sound." She knew he was right but she didn't have to like it.

"Fine. Where?"

Pike chuckled, "Vulcan Embassy."

Jamie looked at him, "Seriously?"

The Admiral nodded, "Spock's idea. I comm'ed him on the way over. He'll be waiting when you get there."

Bones looked at them, "Okay… I missed something. Why the Vulcan Embassy?"

Jamie took a breath before answering him, "It has its own security, any humans not on the list raise a red flag and as guests of the Ambassador's family, an attack against us would cause an interstellar incident since Sarek is a member of the High Council."

* * *

Stardate 2259.195 (July 14th, 2259)  
Ambassador Sarek's Residence, Vulcan Embassy, San Francisco, Earth

Jamie hates hiding but that's exactly what she was doing. Reed was trying to get information out of the intruders but they were only giving bits and pieces. Sarek allowed Jamie the use of one of the offices so that she could get some work done. At least there was one good thing about all this; she got to spend more time with Spock, who took to staying at the embassy as well for "additional security" as he put it.

Right now, she was sitting on the floor in the gym, simultaneously reading the transcripts from Reed's interrogations with the Section 31 duo, sifting through the intel that they got from the Vengeance and watching Spock and John spar with each other.

She knew that her Vulcan friend was holding back because he was stronger than both of them put together but he wasn't going easy on John. She recognized the fighting styles that both men used and she noticed that they were evenly matched. She watched as John attacked and Spock responded. Because they were shirtless, she could see the muscles move under their skin; they were beautiful.

Jamie hit the imager function on her PADD and took a few holos of them in action. She typed out a quick message to Uhura and attached the holos. Her chief communications officer was gonna get a kick out of that. She went back to looking through the information she had in front of her hoping to find an answer to why someone attacked her and John. Uhura sent her a message while she was working.

"What's that smirk for, beautiful?" Jamie looked up and both men were looking at her.

She shrugged, "Nothing… just sending Uhura the wonderful view that I have today."

John laughed and Spock looked at him, "I do not understand."

John smiled, "She sent your girlfriend holos of us sparing… shirtless. We're the view." Spock usually gets her idioms, but not always.

Spock nodded, "I see. I believe Nyota will enjoy 'the view'."

Jamie chuckled and hopped up, "Yep. She might've mentioned jumping on you when she gets here later, just a warning."

John laughed at her, "Should I consider myself warned as well?"

Jamie looked him up and down, "Maybe." He gave her a look but before he could say anything, one of Sarek's aides entered the room.

" _Most Honorable Lord Spock, your father seeks audience with you and your companions._ " Spock nodded at the man.

"What could your dad need us for?" John asked. Spock looked at him, he knew Jamie spoke Vulcan but he didn't know that John did as well.

"I do not know."

The trio left the gym and went to the Ambassador's office. "Captain, Commander, I have just received information regarding the men who attempted to harm you in your home." Jamie nodded and sat in the chair across from him, he handed her a PADD. On it, Jamie read the two men's information. They were a pair of orphans recruited to Section 31 as teens by Admiral Marcus. Killing her was payment.

"They're working with the Romulans?" She handed Spock the PADD and watched as the anger shone in his eyes.

"The Romulans are in possession of Red Matter. They wish to rid the universe of the Klingons as Marcus does. The Romulans agreed to form an alliance with Section 31 if the group eliminated their biggest threat."

"Yea, me. John, there's an active kill order on you. The guys at our place were trying to kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes," Jamie was pissed and worried.

John looked at her, "This Red Matter is the same stuff that Nero used." Jamie and two Vulcans nodded.

Sarek looked at her, "The Romulans must not be allowed to use the Red Matter. The loss of life would be immeasurable. I do not know what Section 31 wishes to accomplish with it."

Jamie nodded, "Nothing good. They almost destroyed the flagship to start a war, there's no telling what they'll do with that stuff."

John looked at her, "What are we going to do, Jamison?"

Jamie had an idea but she didn't even like it, "There is only one person with the answers we need."

John nodded, "You think he'll talk to you?"

She shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not… worth a shot."

Spock caught on, "I cannot permit you to go alone, Jim."

John smiled, "Neither can I."

Jamie chuckled, "Okay, you can both come with me when I chat with the former Admiral Marcus."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer on the song. It's parts of Be Still by The Fray. Nice song.


	7. Chapter 7

Stardate 2259.197 (July 16th, 2259)  
Starfleet High Security Brig Facility, Undisclosed Location, Earth

It only took her five minutes to convince Reed that talking to Marcus was a good idea but it still took a day and a half to get it all set up. They had to be beamed out, shuttled somewhere, and then beamed out again since the location of this brig was beyond classified.

"Step into the scanner, ma'am." She did as the armed security officer instructed her.

The system checked her and the computer confirmed her bio-scan, "Captain Kirk, Jamison Tabitha." Spock, John and Reed went through after her and it did the same for them.

The four walked through the building with an armed escort. It seemed odd to her that the four officers were following them with phase rifles; weapons aren't usually carried around the facility. Jamie glanced at John, who nodded in agreement that something was really wrong. She also brushed her hand against Spock's, it wasn't noticeable to anyone but him.

When the officers turned their weapons on their group, Jamie, John and Spock moved to protect themselves and the Admiral. "What the hell?" Reed asked her.

She shook her head, "This facility is compromised, we need to get out of here, now."

The old admiral looked at her, "What about Marcus?"

"He might not be here anymore, sir," John told him as he scanned the area around them.

Jamie sighed, "Just once I'd like something to go as planned. Is that too much to ask?"

John chuckled, "It's not too much. I just hope Marcus is hasn't gotten far." The idea that Marcus was out in the universe again was a distressing thought. They made their way into one of the control rooms and found the real security officers either dead or cuffed to each other.

Jamie started hacking the cuffs and freeing the five officers, "Are you okay?"

The senior officer of the group shook his head, "Drex and Proctor are dead. They tied the rest of us up… they're here to spring the Admiral. I heard part of the plan; they're heading to the emergency shuttle bay. It's two levels up on the east side of the facility. I can't believe that Thomson was a traitor, he let them in." Jamie and John looked at each other, Section 31 operatives are everywhere.

"Spock, help them and keep the Admiral safe. Harrison, you're with me." She grabbed a PADD off the table, John grabbed them both weapons from the locker and they sprinted out of the room.

"Captain, Commander, late to the party as usual." Alexander Marcus looked at them with such disdain, the feeling was mutual. "What, Kirk, no smart ass comments?"

She glared at him, "What would you like me to say, Marcus? You tried to kill us, more than once. It's actually getting to be a bit ridiculous." She didn't have a plan but as long as he was talking to her, his men weren't shooting, which was a win. "So what's the plan? Get the Romulans and the Klingons to wipe each other out and then clean out whoever survives?"

He nodded, "So you finally figured it out. Why should we do all the work? All we need to do is start a little conflict here, another conflict there and instant war."

She looked at him, "So, aside from me, what did you promise the Romulans?"

He smiled, "Weapons… They offered up some Red Matter for our trouble. Fun stuff that is, but you know that first hand." Jamie nodded.

According to the other Spock, Red Matter is an artificial substance created by the Vulcan Science Academy in the future. It's made from a rare isotope called decalithium and was capable of forming a singularity when ignited. One drop was enough to collapse a star or, in Vulcan's case, destroy a planet.

Marcus looked at her, "I hate to leave so suddenly, but I have places to go and people to kill, no hard feelings, Kirk, but you and Harrison might as well be first." The pair dodged as Marcus' people started shooting at them.

Jamie had hacked into the system and locked the shuttle bay doors so no one could get out. Jamie and John started shooting back and took the group down but one of them managed to get Marcus onto the shuttle. Jamie ran towards it as it lifted off. The shuttle didn't make it very far because as it got closer to the door it exploded.

John grabbed her around the waist and pulled her behind another shuttle to shield them both from falling debris. Jamie and John looked at each other before they tried to pull Marcus out but it was too late.

"This has Section 31 all over it. Why kill Marcus though?" she asked John.

He looked at the burning shuttle, "He was a loose end who attracted too much attention. That's the good news. The bad news is that they may consider me a loose end as well."

She chuckled, "Wouldn't be the first time we were in the middle of someone trying to clean house."

* * *

Stardate 2250.32 (February 1st, 2250)  
Classified Starfleet Intelligence Base, Codename: Asgard, Location: Unknown

"I thought you said that they would reassign us before we were all moved, this place is deserted," she observed. They dropped Dalton off at a secure location and headed to Asgard but the place was empty.

John scanned the room, "Blood." Jamie followed his line of sight to the blood splatter on the wall. They both drew their weapons, this wasn't good. They didn't say anything, they just silently scanned and cleared the rooms as they made their way through the seeming empty base. Jamie came upon a figure outside the galley.

"Helena… she's dead," Jamie touched the woman's neck but there was no pulse.

There was a man near Helena, he whispered, "Kirk."

Jamie looked at him, "Cordon… you alright?"

He shook his head as John checked him over. "Price did this. He just walked in and started shooting. He had some men with him that I didn't recognize… they headed towards the main server room."

John looked at him, "We should get you out of here."

Cordon offered a sad smile, "No time. The intel in that server could get a lot of people killed and start a few wars. Plus, we're talking about a dozen and a half operatives at risk of being compromised. Leave me here, I'm dying anyway." Jamie knew that they couldn't save him but she didn't like the idea.

John looked at her, "You ready?"

She nodded, "Yea."

Jamie moved to get up but Cordon grabbed her arm, "I thought you were only here because of your father. I'm glad I was wrong about you."

She smiled, "Yea… well I thought you were a jerk… glad I was only half wrong." He chuckled and told her to go.

They headed for an area deeper in the facility. Because they were SI, a good chunk of their day-to-day information was kept local, including missions. "You can't get in… I already changed the encryption, Price," John told the traitor.

Price chuckled, "I should've figured that out. Here's what's gonna happen, you'll let me in the system and I won't kill Kirk." He pointed a weapon at her and fired. The phaser blast hit Jamie square in the chest and that's the last thing she remembered.

* * *

Stardate 2250.32 (February 1st, 2250)  
Location: Unknown

"Not this shit again."

Price looked at her, "You're awake. Good."

Jamie scanned the room, "Where's Johnny?"

He chuckled, "You two… you know it took me a while to figure you guys out. I mean, you aren't sleeping with each other, too much sexual tension. I had to do some digging but I still didn't find anything. So fill me in."

Jamie was not in the mood for this, "Tell me where he is." He looked at her. Price has worked with her enough to know that she wasn't gonna tell him anything if she didn't want to.

He nodded, "Try anything and I'll kill you both." He cut her loose and pulled her to her feet. They walked down the hall and Price pointed to a window. John didn't look hurt, just pissed off. Price opened the door.

John looked up, "Jamison. Are you hurt?" She shook her head as Price and one of his guys walked into the room behind her.

"So, you're together again. I told you that we didn't hurt her. She's too valuable to kill." Jamie rolled her eyes and looked at John, she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was.

"So, what was the point? I'm not joining your cause. Your only options are to kill us or free us and maybe we wait a while before we kill you." Price laughed but he knew she meant every word of it.

"I could just kill him and…"

Jamie cut Price off, "That's a very quick way to piss me off, Price, and you know it. What do you want? Galactic domination… I'm not interested. Human superiority… again, not interested."

"I could give you anything, Jamie… all you have to do is come with me," Price told her.

"You have nothing she wants, Price," John growled.

The two men glared at each other before their former friend spoke, "How would you know that, _Johnny_?"

Jamie shook her head as John smirked, "I've told you not to call me that. You don't know her as well as you think you do if you think you could give her what she wants… what she truly wants. Even I can't give her that."

In a perfect world, Jamie would've had her dad or saved Sam and Hoshi… Price can't give her that and John knew it.

"Try me."

She shook her head at Price, "You want to give me something? Erase the memory of finding my aunt and uncle dead on their kitchen floor… or the blood on John's hands as he tried to stop his mother from bleeding to dead in their living room. Change the fact that my mother blames me for my father's death. Give me five minutes with George Kirk… my dad or my brother, I'll take either. You won't even have to give me all of them, I'll just take one thing on the list." He looked at her and Jamie took a breath, "You wanted to know what the deal is with us, that's it. John was my brother's best friend… then Kodos killed everyone we loved, my aunt and uncle, my brother, some of our friends. He killed Miss Sara and Mister Rich… John's parents. He killed Hoshi Sato, the Hoshi Sato who helped found the Federation, and thousands of people who taught us and cared about us and fought for us. The only reason we're even alive, is because we're too stubborn to die and we stuck together. Now, you have two options. You can let us go or you can kill us both… Just remember, if Kodos the Executioner couldn't do it what makes you think that you can?"

Price stopped to think about what she said and Jamie used that distraction to take him down. The other man in the room lunged for her but John got to him first. Jamie knocked Price out, gagged him and cuffed him to the wall; they'll come back for him. John killed the other guy.

"How long have your cuffs been unlocked?"

He chuckled, "A while."

She smiled at him, "How many are there?" Jamie asked as they popped the magnetic lock on the door.

"Five," he told her. Jamie nodded. They took the weapons from Price and his guard and made their way through the compound. They took down two in the control room, one in the hall and the last two in the small kitchen.

Jamie hacked into the system to comm Admiral Reed. He told them to grab Price and evacuate to a set of coordinates. Jamie knew that they were gonna blow this facility and Asgard, if they hadn't already. They grabbed Price and stole one of the shuttles in the bay.

"Hey Johnny..." he looked at her as she flew the craft, "did he get into the server?"

John shook his head at her question, "No, I downloaded the info to SI's main hub and erased the local data."

Jamie laughed, "I bet he was pissed."

John nodded, "You could say that… but he knew that hurting me would just anger you, so…"

Jamie shook her head, "At least he remembered that much."

* * *

Stardate 2259.198 (July 17th, 2259)  
Ambassador Sarek's Residence, Vulcan Embassy, San Francisco, Earth

What was the end game? Jamie was still lost. Even if Section 31 started a war, what do they gain? Her musing was cut short by a voice at the door.

"Well, my father has always kept such lovely company." Jamie looked up at the Vulcan that she only knew by reputation. Like Spock, he took after his father; Sybok was Sarek's first son from his annulled marriage. Sarek didn't know about him until after his mother died. Spock didn't explain what happened, just that Sybok was angry at the Elders for her treatment.

According to Spock, Sybok had denounced the Vulcan idea of pure logic and preferred to balance logic with emotion, something he learned from his mother. For a Vulcan, he was pretty human… it was interesting that the hybrid was the more Vulcan of the pair. If Vulcan was still around, he'd be banned but there were too few Vulcans left for them to banish anyone, despite how they thought.

She gave Sybok a look, "I guess… I haven't seen the Ambassador with anyone but Spock and his aides. Although, the young lady who works for him is very beautiful. I'm…"

He cut her off, "Captain Jamison Kirk. My brother's commanding officer."

She smiled, "And friend. You must be Sybok. Nice to finally meet you."

He smiled, "The honor is all mine. I must say… you are far more beautiful in person."

Jamie smiled, "Thanks. I should probably go find Spock, we're working on something."

He smiled at her, "Don't let me run you out of here, Jamison. May I call you Jamison?"

"She would actually prefer it if you didn't, Sybok. If you're not going to address her by rank, then use 'Miss Kirk' or 'Jamie'." She chuckled as Spock entered the office, John right behind him.

"Don't be so hypersensitive, brother. I was simply having a polite conversation with your very attractive friend."

Spock took a step towards his brother and Jamie stood between them, " _Spock, there is no offense where none is taken._ You said it yourself, I'm aesthetically pleasing. Besides, I'm taken. Right, John?"

He nodded, "Very."

After a moment, Spock stepped back and looked at her, "My apologies, Jim."

She smiled, "It's not me you should apologize to."

Jamie gave her friend a look and he nodded, "My apologies, Sybok."

The older Vulcan chuckled, "As your friend said, there is no offense where none is taken _._ If she was my friend, I would be protective too. She's beautiful, she speaks Vulcan and she even quotes Surak."

Spock nodded as Jamie added to the discussion, "He's just being touchy… someone tried to kill me and Johnny in our bed and we can't go home. Then we almost got blown up in the one place we should've been safe. It's been a tough week. "

Sybok looked at her, "Who would dare? You're a Federation hero."

Jamie and John chuckled while Spock looked at his brother, "Have you ever had dealings with Section 31?"

Sybok rolled his eyes and laughed, "I haven't but I've heard of them. They claim to have the Federation's interests at heart but they don't seem like the sort to be trusted." Man, was he right about that.

Jamie shrugged, "At this point, I just want to get me and John off their hit list."

"Well, I might have some news on that front," Uhura said. They all looked to the door as she and Carol entered. Spock introduced Sybok to the officers as Carol handed Jamie a PADD.

"You want the good news or the bad news, Captain?"

Jamie looked at Carol, "I've told you to call me Jamie. Surprise me."

She nodded, "The good news; my father and his followers are not the majority of Section 31. They went rogue." That was good news; Jamie didn't want to fight the whole group of super secret black-ops officers.

"Okay, the bad news?"

Uhura looked at her, "The Romulan thing is still in play but we don't know the details. We're thinking that the hits on you and Harrison were added after Marcus failed to destroy the Enterprise. The weapons were payment for the Red Matter. The how and why are still unknown. Sulu is working on it though."

Jamie knew that the helmsman was going to attempt to contact his sister. Yuki was assigned to the Armstrong but they all knew it was a cover. If she was loyal to Marcus, she might not help but her brother may be able to break through. Jamie took a breath, "Well, that's something. How do we stop them? Should we stop them?" They all looked at her.

"I see where you're going with this, Jamison," John said, "It would be better for Starfleet to have the Red Matter." She watched as the others started to understand where her thought process went.

Sybok spoke first, "It's genius… you just have to stop them from killing you."

Jamie chuckled, "One crisis at a time."

* * *

Stardate 2259.207 (July 26th, 2259)  
Ambassador Sarek's Residence, Vulcan Embassy, San Francisco, Earth

"Come to bed, Jamison. You aren't going to solve the universe's problems tonight." Jamie looked at John and smiled.

"Do you do this on purpose? I mean, that…" she made a gesture towards his shirtless form, "is so unfair."

He smirked as he slowly made his way towards her spot on the balcony. He gently pulled Jamie to her feet and looked into her eyes, "I think I got the better view, beautiful." Jamie felt herself blush as John pulled her into a kiss. She feels like a giddy school girl every time he does that. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his lips against hers.

"Oh… how I love you," she whispered when they pulled away to breathe.

He chuckled, "I love you more."

She shook her head, "Not possible. Sorry."

John kissed her neck, "You sure about that?"

She nodded, "Never been more sure about anything."

She felt him smile against her neck, "I'll remember that. Come on, you need to sleep."

Jamie gave him a look, "What if I don't want to sleep?"

John looked at her and smiled, "Well... what do you want to do?"

She ran her hand along his chest, "I might have an idea or two." She walked past him… but she didn't get far as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

"Oh, you're such a minx." John's hands roamed her skin as Jamie leaned her head back against his shoulder and chuckled.

"Yes… but you love me."

He nipped her ear, "Like nothing else in the universe, beautiful." He kissed her neck as he undid the buttons on the shirt she was wearing. "I may need to get more clothes if I'm going to share them with you."

Jamie laughed as he slid the shirt over her shoulders and placed kisses on her skin, "Won't do any good, I only wear the ones you've worn. They smell like you."

He slid the shorts and panties down her legs and just looked at her, "I definitely have the better view." Jamie shivered, not because she was now wearing nothing except her smile, but because that was the affect he has on her.

Jamie chuckled at the look on his face, "Earth to Johnny."

He smiled, "Sorry."

She pushed him on the bed and straddled him. "You're so adorable."

He pouted, "No I'm not. I'm handsome not adorable."

Jamie kissed his neck, "But you are… I think it's sexy that you still stare at me like you can't believe I'm here."

"Some days, I can't. I'm still kicking myself for leaving you." Jamie could tell from the look in his eyes how much he meant that. She could also see the regret.

Jamie touched his face, "You know… if you didn't leave, I wouldn't have taken that assignment at the academy and I wouldn't have been on the Enterprise when Nero showed up. Earth would be gone… so, while it broke my heart, we're all still alive."

"Only you would find the logic in that."

She kissed his collarbone, "Nope, Spock finds logic in just about everything, I'm just taking a page from his book."

John smiled as she leaned up and kissed him, slowly, lazily, as if she was staking her claim on him. He tangled his hands in her hair and kissed her back. Without moving off of him, Jamie slid his pajama pants down his legs as far as she could reach and felt John kick them the rest of the way to the floor. "Jamison…" he whispered as she slid onto him, his hands flexed on her hips. John closed his eyes and took a deep breath as she began to move over him, "God, Jamison." He caressed her body as they moved together. Jamie closed her eyes, the feel of him sent electricity through her.

John sat up and his hands slid up her back, holding her to him. Jamie shivered as his mouth settled at her throat, kissing and nipping her skin. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they continued to move. "Jamison, I…" she chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist and, without breaking contact, flipped them over in one smooth move.

"Hey, not fair..." He pulled her into an Earth-shattering kiss and she forgot what she was going to say. He chuckled and thrust into her harder, faster. Jamie was so lost in him, it should scare her but it didn't; it felt good, safe, right. "Johnny…" fell from her lips as the pressure that built in her finally snapped. She arched beneath him and held on as he continued to move. God, she was so in love with him.

It wasn't a surprise, she's been in love with him for over a decade, but the weight of it hit her like a ton of bricks. Jamie felt like she couldn't breathe and she felt the tears well up. He thrust into her one final time and she came completely undone.

John rained kisses on her face and her neck, "Jamison, what's wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She shook her head and smiled, "No, you didn't. I'm okay… just… overwhelmed with how much I love you."

John studied her face, "I love you too. You know, I have that moment all the time… feels like my heart was gonna beat right out of my chest." Jamie chuckled and nodded as he wiped the tears from her face.

"How do you… What do you do?"

He smiled, "Depends, sometimes I just have to be in the same room as you. Other times I hold you tighter and watch you sleep."

She chuckled, "You know… if it was anyone else, It would be creepy as hell." John smiled and moved to get up but she held onto him.

"I'm too heavy."

She shook her head, "Not even close. Just stay here. Please." Jamie liked being this close to him.

He took a breath before he flipped them both over again so that she was lying across his chest, "There. Now, go to sleep, beautiful." He pulled the covers over them both and ran his fingers along her spine as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

* * *

Stardate 2259.209 (July 28th, 2259)  
Admiral Christopher Pike's Office, Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"We gotta go to Qo'noS, Captain."

Jamie looked at Sulu, "Okay…?"

He took a breath, "I talked to my sister, it took some convincing but I know the when and where of this whole thing. The Romulans are at Khitomer right now. If we're gonna stop a war, we need to let the Klingons know what's going on."

Jamie chuckled, "That's all, huh? You know… they might just kill me and John for the last time we were on Qo'noS… sounds like fun."

John looked at her, "Only you would find this fun."

She shrugged and took a breath, "We'll need a ship, the Enterprise is still being repaired."

"Take the Ticonderoga. She's docked at Starbase One. The ship is small but fast and heavily armed," Reed told her. Jamie knew the Tico; it was an SI scout ship.

Pike looked at him, "I'd like to go with them."

Reed nodded, "Someone has to keep this lot outta trouble." Jamie chuckled and glanced at Spock, he was on his communicator rounding up the team that they were going to take on this mission.

Aside from Pike, Jamie, Spock, John and Sulu; they were also bringing Bones and Chapel for Medical; Scotty, Boma, Watson, and Harper for Engineering; Uhura, and Hawkins for Comms; Carol for Weapons; Gaila for Computers; Chekov and Stiles for Navigation; Hendorff, Zahra, Kai, and Edwards for Security; and McKenna as the second Helm officer. Jamie was leaving Keenser and Darwin in command of the Enterprise refit.

The young Captain looked at Reed, "You know, I wasn't kidding, the Klingons might actually kill me. We did take out one of their patrols."

He nodded, "I'll see what I can do from this end but we still have to warn them."

She nodded, "Yes, sir." She stood up and almost gave the order for her officers to leave but stopped herself and looked at Pike, "Sir?"

He chuckled, "Your show, kid. I'm just going along for the ride." Jamie nodded and gave her men a look. John, Spock and Sulu stood and left the room.

Reed laughed, "God… some captains spend years trying to get their crew to move without speaking but you've only been at it for a year and a half and they all jump with a look. Too bad we can't bottle that and pass it out to the command cadets."

Jamie smiled, "What can I say, sir? I'm a natural."

* * *

Stardate 2259.211 (July 30th, 2259)  
Bridge, USS Ticonderoga, outside the Federation/Klingon Neutral Zone

Jamie hated waiting. She doesn't know how Reed did it but the Klingons had guaranteed safe passage for Jamie to take a small team to The Great Hall, in the First City on Qo'noS so that they could meet with Durak, Chancellor of the High Council of the Klingon Empire. They were just waiting for their escorts to show up. She'd be happy to never see the Klingon homeworld again as long as she lived but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. She looked around; this bridge was tiny compared to the Enterprise. The Tico was built for a crew of 50 but their group of 22 made the small ship seem a little bigger than it was.

"Captain, we have a ship at our four o'clock, moving fast." Jamie nodded at John as another ship came at them from the other direction, both Klingon vessels.

"They hailing us," Uhura told her. Jamie sat in her chair and nodded.

The Klingon on the screen glared at her, "Federation vessel. I am Commander Kor."

Jamie could feel the hatred directed towards her, "I must speak with your Chancellor. He has given his word that my people and I would not be harmed." The Klingon looked at her and Jamie glared. She switched to Klingon, " _There is no time for your intimidation, it doesn't affect me. We have a common enemy with a powerful weapon. Let us pass or try to destroy us. Your choice._ " Jamie motioned for Uhura to cut the comm and looked around the room, "Uhura, have Kai and Zahra meet us in the shuttle bay. John, Bones and Sulu, you're with me. Spock, the con is yours." Jamie walked out of the room with the three officers behind her. The six officers loaded into the small shuttle and flew to Qo'noS, Commander Kor followed in his ship.


	8. Chapter 8

Stardate 2259.211 (July 30th, 2259)  
The Great Hall, First City, Qo'noS

"You are either very brave or very foolish, human," Durak, the Chancellor, looked at her.

Jamie stood tall and glared, "I do what's necessary, Chancellor, even when people don't agree with me." He nodded while some of his men glared. She heard them talking in Klingon that she should be killed for the patrol and that her presence is an insult. Jamie just looked at them, "If you want to kill me, you're more than welcome to try… of course the information I have is much more valuable than our lives."

They all looked at her and Durak gave her a look, "You killed our soldiers…"

"They harmed my officer. I gave them an honorable death with the same amount of mercy that you would've given me. Is that not the Klingon way? We can stand here and waste time squabbling over a group of Klingon warriors that got their asses handed to them by five humans and a Vulcan… or we can deal with the problem at hand. The Romulans laid waste to Khitomer a few hours ago and they're headed here with the same substance they used to destroy Vulcan. You don't have to like me, but like you, I believe that there is no honor in sitting back and watching others fight your battles. I may not be fond of you but I do have enough respect to warn you about the storm that's coming. What you do with that information is up to you." Jamie and Chancellor stared at each other.

After a moment he spoke, "How did you receive this information, Captain?" She turned her head and Sulu stepped forward. "There is a group humans working with the Romulans… my sister among them."

The Klingons hissed but Jamie glared and they settled so that Sulu could continue, "I forced her to give me the information. I refuse to allow her to dishonor our family any more than she already has. There is a group of Romulans heading this way, the plan is to use the Red Matter to create a singularity in Qo'noS, like the one that destroyed Vulcan."

Jamie was glad he listened to her warning in the shuttle. Being associated with this wasn't a good thing but to Klingon's, family was the most important thing, even more important than the Empire. She knew that appealing to their sense of family and honor would help. The Chancellor looked at them but before he could say anything, there was an explosion.

"We should've killed them when we had the chance." Jamie looked at Commander Kor as he pointed his weapon at her; Jamie pointed hers back for a second before she lowered it. He really didn't like her but she didn't care.

Jamie stepped closer to him, "You aren't gonna shoot me, Kor." She spotted the Section 31 officer behind him; she raised her phaser and pulled the trigger, "I told you, I'm here to help."

He looked at the man she shot and then at her, "Why fight your own people?" Jamie looked at him, "I'm an orphan, the only thing in this universe that has ever belonged to me was my name, my brother's name, the name of my father and uncle, and their father before them. The name they all died for… their honor and mine. I'd rather die an honorable death like the rest of my family did, than live a dishonorable life. If you understand nothing about me, you understand that."

It was the most honest thing she's ever said to anyone about her father. It was why she does what she does, she doesn't want to bring disgrace to George's name. Kor gave her a once over and nodded. Just then, more Section 31 operatives joined the fray; Jamie's team and Kor's rallied together to fight. Then, the Romulans showed up.

Jamie spotted the officer who had the Red Matter and she looked at Kor, "Him."

They both sprinted after the man as he attempted to find a place to detonate the bomb. Kor caught him and Jamie dove for the small but powerful weapon as it flew out of his hands and into the air. Jamie could've laughed at the fact that this reminded her of one of those old movies where the hero has to dive for something to save everyone but she didn't have the time. She caught it… barely.

"Kor, I got it."

She looked over as he slit the Romulan's throat. Jamie didn't even attempt to stop him, she should've but she knew better. The young Captain and the Klingon Commander jogged back to the other room. Jamie put her phaser on burst and shot into the air, everything stopped.

Kor shouted, "Grab them."

Her team and the Klingons grabbed the intruders. Chancellor Durak looked at her, "You will not stop us from killing them?"

Jamie looked at him, "No, I won't."

Bones looked at her, "Jim!"

She put a hand up to silence him, "We did what we came to do, to stop them from destroying this planet. I will not stand between the Klingons and whatever they deem necessary to do with these people who detonated explosives in one of their most sacred places. First City isn't just a place it's a part of what makes the Klingon people who they are."

Bones glared as John spoke, "She's right, doctor. If they attempted this at our HQ we wouldn't want someone to tell us how to deal with it."

Jamie nodded and looked at Durak, "We'll get the Red Matter somewhere safe. My team and I will leave you to do with them what you wish, Chancellor."

The Section 31 team and the Romulans all looked at her, one of them even tried to speak before he was hit in the head. Jamie held no sympathy for them. She was tired and the Section 31 team knew better.

She looked at them, "You massacred Khitomer and you tried to destroy Qo'noS. Even if I could help you… I won't. You're a bunch of cowards and this… this is a better death than you deserve."

Zahra opened her comm to contact the ship while Jamie and the Chancellor looked at each other, "Perhaps we won't kill you the next time we meet, Kirk."

She smiled, "You're always welcome to try, Chancellor Durak."

Kor looked at her, "You and I are not so different, Kirk." He handed her his d'k tuhg, Jamie ran her thumb over the emblem of Kor's house. This knife was special, the d'k tahg was the traditional warrior's knife, commonly used in hand-to-hand combat, and had great ceremonial value in Klingon culture. To steal a warrior's d'k tahg was considered a grave insult but to be given one meant you earned that warrior's respect and was a great honor. He gave her a Klingon salute, "You have an ally with Kor, son of Rynar."

She returned the gesture and smiled, "And you with Jamison, daughter of George."

* * *

Stardate 2259.211 (July 30th, 2259)  
Bridge, USS Ticonderoga, in orbit over Qo'noS

"Well, this looks interesting." Spock stood up as the team walked onto the bridge. Jamie handed him the container with the Red Matter in it and looked around. There were Romulan ships fighting with the Klingon Defense Force. The Tico was keeping out of the battle but they were also sending the Klingons data from their scans of the Romulans.

Uhura looked at her, "Captain, we're being hailed."

Jamie nodded as she took her seat, "Go ahead."

The Romulan that appeared onscreen looked at her, "Federation vessel, assist us with the Klingons or we'll destroy you too."

Jamie chuckled, "You have fun with that."

Chekov looked at Jamie, "Keptin, I'm picking up something strange from zhe sensors."

Pike looked at him, "The Romulans?"

John shook his head, "Section 31." A Federation vessel uncloaked between them and the battle.

"Forgive me for ignoring customary hailing procedures, Captain, but time is of the essence." She looked at the Section 31 operative who added himself to her conversation with the Romulan Commander. "Hello, Commander L'Nar."

The Romulan glared at the screen, "Where did you get this ship?"

The 31 officer looked annoyed, "Our alliance didn't require us to tell you all our secrets. And now that our alliance is over, there is even less incentive for us to do so."

The Romulan, L'Nar, looked lost, "What do you mean… 'over'. Give me one reason not to blow you both from the stars."

31 –Jamie was just gonna call him 31 since he gave no name- chuckled, "You won't have the chance, L'Nar. I must say, I expected more from the great Romulan Star Empire." He turned his attention to Jamie, "You see, Captain Kirk, when we provided our technology to the Romulans, we installed a sleeper program that could only be activated by our side. We just activated it." Jamie almost laughed, sneaky bastards.

L'Nar looked like he was about to go ape-shit, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

31 smirked, "I'm talking about ending all threats to Earth, L'Nar. No matter where they come from." Everyone on the bridge watched as the Romulan ships exploded. Usually, Jamie would be pissed off by the loss of life but not today.

"So, what about us, 31? Gonna kill us too? Or are you gonna wait for you assassins to do it?"

He looked at her, "They aren't ours. Any threats against you died with Alexander Marcus. He was a madman who set our work back years. He betrayed everything Section 31 stands for. We've been weeding out his loyalists, thank you for helping with that, by the way. You were in his way, so he tried to have you killed. We've already eliminated any hits on you and your team. Just so you're aware, Yuki Sulu was only following her orders, don't keep her locked in the brig for that. You may not believe me but we are on the same side, Captain. The Romulan fleet is damaged and you have earned the Klingon's respect. Neither group will come after us, not with the WMD your team took from the Romulans. Get the Red Matter back to Admiral Reed. He'll have a secure location for it. Until next time." He cut the comm and his ship cloaked again.

"Should I scan for zhem, Keptin?"

Jamie shook her head at Chekov, "Nope. It would be pointless, Chekov. Let's go home."

Bones looked at her, "So… what does this mean?"

John was the one who answered, "It means we're done. No war, no more assassins… and no more hiding at the embassy."

Jamie chuckled, "Hey, I like the embassy. Maybe we can visit."

John nodded, "Of course but if Sybok flirts with you anymore, I may have to hurt him." Everyone on the bridge laughed.

Pike looked at him, "You do know that she flirts with everybody… you can't beat up the whole universe. Besides, you'd have to start with me, McCoy and Uhura."

* * *

Stardate 2255.71 (March 12th, 2255)  
The Dodge Bar, outside Riverside, Iowa, Earth

Jamie couldn't believe she agreed to this. It wasn't even the assignment that got to her, it was the way she was supposed to start it. Just joining up wasn't an option, too many questions, so SI came up with a way of getting her recruited. Captain Christopher Pike was an expert on the USS Kelvin and, indirectly, of her father. He was overseeing the construction of the Constitution-class ship, the new USS Enterprise. It was slated to be the new flagship and Pike was assigned as her Captain. For now, he was also working as a recruiting officer for the academy. All she had to do was get his attention and let him do the rest.

She was about to order another drink when this beautiful girl started rattling off drinks to Lew, the bartender. "…three Budweiser Classics, two Cardassian sunrises and..." Lew told her to try the Slusho, so she added that to her order.

Jamie chuckled, "That's a lot of drinks for a woman." The girl rolled her eyes and ordered a shot of Jack. Jamie looked at Lew, "Make that two. Her shot's on me."

The girl looked at her, "Her shot's on her. Thanks, but no thanks."

Jamie smiled, "Don't you at least wanna know my name before you completely reject me?"

"I'm fine without it." This girl has some fire, Jamie would be lying if she said she didn't like it.

"You are fine without it. It's Jamie, Jamie Kirk. And if you don't tell me your name, I'm gonna have to make one up."

The girl smiled, "It's Uhura."

Jamie looked at her, "Uhura? No way. That's the name I was gonna make up for you. Uhura what?"

The cadet smirked, "Just Uhura."

Jamie shook her head, "So, no last names where you're from?"

Uhura rolled her eyes, "That is my last name."

Jamie slid past the guy sitting between them at the bar, "Fair enough. So, you're a cadet, what's your focus?"

"Xenolinguistics. You have no idea what that means."

Oh, Jamie really likes her, "You know, it's not nice to make assumptions about people. I happen to enjoy the study of alien languages. Morphology, phonology, syntax. Means you've got a talented tongue."

She knew she surprised Uhura because she smiled, "I'm impressed. For a moment there, I thought you were just a dumb hick who married her cousin."

Jamie shook her head, "Don't have any of those… not that I know of, anyway. I'd ask my family but I don't actually have one, so…"

Uhura gave her a look, "Sorry."

She smiled, "Don't be. I turned out okay. Besides, I get to go around and meet interesting people." Uhura blushed, score one for Jamie.

"This townie isn't bothering you, right?" They both looked up to a burly cadet who seemed to be a friend of Uhura's.

The cadet shook her head, "Nothing I can't handle."

Jamie smirked, "That sounds like an invitation, Uhura."

She laughed but her big friend didn't, "Hey, mind your manners."

Jamie looked at him, "Or what, Cupcake? You mad she's paying more attention to me than you? Too bad."

She turned to go back to her drink when he grabbed her arm, "Hey, farm girl, maybe you can't count. There are four of us and one of you."

She chuckled, "I don't do orgies but I'll tell you what, you let me go and I won't break your face."

What happened next really wasn't a fight. Jamie didn't even swing, she blocked and ducked, taking them down with as few moves as possible. The next thing she heard was a loud whistle through the room. Everything froze as they all looked to the source, "Outside. All of you. Now." It was followed by a mass exodus of the bar.

Uhura touched her arm, "Nyota."

Jamie smiled and nodded, "I'll remember that."

As everyone else, cadets and civilians, cleared out, Jamie looked at Lew, "Sorry, man."

He shrugged, "Wasn't your fault, honey." She looked at the man who cleared the room, the man she came to be recruited by. His file didn't do him any justice, Pike was handsome. He was 50 with a little gray hair around the edges but she could tell that he was in better shape than the cadets he ran out of the bar. And those eyes, holy hell.

He looked at her as she checked him out, "You alright?"

Jamie chuckled, "Peachy. You know, someone should teach those idiots some manners… I doubt they'll live through their first away mission with that attitude. Just saying."

He looked at her, "So you know a thing or two about Starfleet?"

She rolled her eyes, "Doesn't everybody?"

He looked her up and down, "Do I know you, kid?"

Jamie shrugged, "Doubt it. I'm a nobody. Invisible… at least, I try to be."

Lew chuckled, "Keep dreaming, honey. She's Jamie Kirk."

Pike's eyes went wide and Jamie shook her head, "Thanks, Lew."

He smiled, "Anytime."

"You're…" Pike started.

She smirked, "I'm what?"

He gave her a look, "Your father's daughter."

Jamie chuckled, "Never met him… but you know that. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you know more about him than I do. Hey, Lew, refill." The bartender nodded.

Pike looked like he was gearing up for a war, "I'm Captain Chris Pike, for my dissertation I was assigned USS Kelvin. Something I admired about your dad, he didn't believe in no-win scenarios."

Jamie looked at him, "Yea… we all know he won. His family… not so much."

Pike looked at her, "You're here, aren't you?"

"My brother's dead and my mother blames me for both, so…" Lew handed her a drink and Jamie thanked him.

Pike looked at her for a moment before he decided on what he was gonna say, "That instinct to leap without looking that was his nature too and in my opinion something Starfleet's lost."

Jamie gave him a look, "Why are you talking to me?"

Pike smiled, "Because I know more about you than you think. Your aptitude tests are off the charts. You like being the only genius with anger management issues?"

She shrugged, "Maybe I love it. You ever consider that I have reasons to be angry?"

"So your dad dies, you can settle for less than an ordinary life. Or do you feel that you were meant for something better? Something special? Enlist in Starfleet." This is what Jamie wanted but it almost felt too real for her. There was a part of her that hated Starfleet but the work she did to help people overruled that.

She continued to play her part and gave him a look, "Enlist? You guys must be way down on your recruiting quota. I have no reason to join Starfleet. I get compared to George enough on the rare occasions that my mother and I are in the same place sector. Why should I subject myself to being judged and compared to a man I never got the chance to know?"

He thought about what she said for a moment and looked her in the eyes, "Because, if you're half the person your father was, Starfleet could use you. It's not perfect but it's a chance to help. A chance to make sure that someone else doesn't grow up like you did. You understand what the Federation is, don't you? It's important; it's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada."

She rolled her eyes at him, "We done?"

He nodded, "I'm done. You know, your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved eight hundred lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better."

Pike walked out of the bar. If she wasn't already in Starfleet, she'd join up on that last sentence alone. Jamie didn't say yes on purpose. She knew when the shuttle was heading back to San Francisco, she'll be there.

* * *

Stardate 2255.72 (March 13th, 2255)  
Starfleet San Francisco Shipyard Riverside Annex, Riverside Iowa, Earth

"Do better, huh?"

Pike looked at her and smiled, "That's what I said."

Jamie nodded, "Well, you never know unless you try."

He chuckled, "Very true. Find a seat, Miss Kirk."

She took a breath, "Yes, sir." Jamie walked up the stairs and looked around. She spotted the guys from the night before, "Hey, fellas." They all looked at her as she made her way past them. "Nyota."

The girl chuckled, "I should've known." Jamie shrugged. She was going to reply but the yelling coming from behind her caught her attention.

"I told you people, I don't need a doctor, damn it, I am a doctor." Jamie looked up as the doctor was put in his place by the flight officer. She almost felt bad for him if he pissed the commander off. He rattled off something about having aviophobia but the flight officer wasn't having it. He sat next to her with a huff, "I may throw up on you."

Jamie laughed, "Doubt it. These things are pretty safe."

He looked at her, "Don't pander to me kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. A solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And while you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence."

Jamie wanted to laugh but he was serious, she took a breath, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Starfleet operates in space."

The man with the sexy Georgia accent huffed, "Yea, well... I've got nowhere else to go, the ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones."

She actually felt bad for him. "Ouch. Tell you what, I'll help you with this flying stuff."

He looked at her, "In return for what?"

She shrugged, "Don't know yet. Jamie Kirk."

She offered her hand and he shook it, "McCoy. Leonard McCoy."

* * *

Stardate 2259.214 (August 1st, 2259)  
Admiral Malcolm Reed's office, Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

Jamie didn't want to hand over the Red Matter. She didn't know who was going to know where it was but Reed had Spock, John and her security team do the transfer themselves. It made her feel a bit better that they were the ones who secured it.

"So, it's over."

Jamie shook her head at Reed's statement, "For now… but you know better than anyone that Section 31 will be back in the mix at some point."

Pike nodded at her, "She's right. Hopefully, they'll wait awhile. We could use a break."

Jamie laughed, "A break… I have a ship in spacedock, remember."

He looked at her, "That's the easy part. You got a five year mission on deck. You should take leave while you have the chance, Jim." Reed seemed to agree. Now that there wasn't a hit on her anymore, leave sounded nice.

Jamie looked at them, "Why do I have the feeling that you just gave me an order?"

They both smiled, "We did."

Pike looked at her, "Take Harrison with you. Spock, Uhura and McCoy didn't take leave either so make them go too."

She nodded, "Anything else, sir?"

He smiled, "Yes. Good job, kid."

She smiled back, "Thank you but it was a team effort, sir."

* * *

Stardate 2259.221 (August 7th, 2259)  
Kirk/Harrison Residence near Lake El'nar, Betazed

Being here again was almost surreal; Jamie avoided this place like the plague after John left. She'd only been here once, after Nero when everyone went on leave and she was short on options. Bones offered to let her go to Georgia with him like she'd done so many times before but she needed to be alone. She hoped that maybe John would be there but she also hoped he wasn't. She didn't see him but she wasn't convinced that he didn't show up at some point.

Jamie looked around the room. She noticed that their bedrooms had been rearranged and all their belongings were in John's old room. Her room was now a guest room. Jamie smiled as she sat on the bed and looked around; a holo on the dresser caught her eye. Jamie stood, walked across the room and picked it up. She easily recognized herself, Johnny, Sam, Tommy and Hoshi.

She remembered taking this, it was a week after her thirteenth birthday, Percy got a new holo imager and was figuring out how to use it. Hoshi talked them into posing. "I have a few of you with Sam too."

Jamie smiled as John walked into the room, "I know."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek, "I miss him."

She nodded, "Me too. What do you think he'd say, you know… about us?" John chuckled as she sat the holo down and turned in his arms.

He looked at her, "I think he saw this coming."

Jamie raised an eyebrow, "You think?"

John nodded, "Oh, yea. He even gave me that 'stay away from my little sister' speech." Jamie rested her head on John's shoulder and laughed.

"After the crops failed and Kodos started killing people, he changed his mind. Made me promise to take care of you, no matter what. Not that it took any convincing; I already looked out for you."

She looked in his eyes, "Why? I never understood why you always felt the need to watch over me."

He took a breath, "The easy answer is that you were my friend and Sam's sister. The harder answer is that I always knew you were special to me. I didn't know how or why, just that you were. I was right."

Jamie gave him a soft kiss, "You were."

* * *

Stardate 2246.79 (March 20th, 2246)  
Harrison Residence, Carson Manner Neighborhood, Tarsus Four Colony

"How'd you get in here?"

Jamie smiled, "Your mom let me in. You look miserable."

John chuckled, "Well, we are in the middle of a crop failure." She did a slow scan of his room. She's never been in here before, usually she just stopped at the door.

She stopped in front of him and handed him a box, "Happy birthday. I'm sorry it's a crappy day. It sucks… I know all about that."

He looked at her and smiled, "You didn't have to get me anything."

She shrugged, "Technically, I didn't."

He raised an eyebrow and opened the box to find a data chip, "What…?"

Jamie smiled, "Just a little something I threw together, mostly holos and vids of all our shenanigans for when you go to college. I should probably head home."

He shook his head, "Watch it with me and then I'll walk you home." John left no room for argument and grabbed a chair so that she could sit next to him at his desk.

He connected the chip to his console and watched the slideshow Jamie made of all the gang doing dumb stuff, conducting experiments, holidays and birthdays and every happy thing she could think of. Towards the end there were vid messages from everyone, Jamie's was last. She watched herself wish him luck and told him not to disappear on her. She signed off that she was lucky to be his friend. John looked at her for a second before he pulled her into a hug, "Thank you, Jamison."

She chuckled against his shoulder, "You're welcome… just don't want you to forget about us."

He leaned back and touched her face, "I can guarantee you that would never happen." She smiled and the pair sat in comfortable silence for a while until Miss Sara called up that Jamie's aunt was looking for her. John looked at her, "Come on… I promised to walk with you."

She took a breath, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

John chuckled, "I want to." He reached over and tugged on her hand, "You know, you're a good friend, Jamison."

She tucked her hair behind her ear, "I try."

* * *

Stardate 2259.235 (August 23rd, 2259)  
Admiral Christopher Pike's Residence, Mojave, Earth

"Chris?" Jamie got a message to stop by after she got back to San Francisco. Jamie and John spent two weeks on Betazed before they went to Starbase One to check on the Enterprise, they'd been on Earth for a few hours.

"Back here, kid." Jamie knew her way through Pike's house. It didn't help when trying to dispel rumors that they were together but she was as much his family as he was hers and someone had to help him after Nero, Bones could only do so much. She practically lived in his guest room after he got released from the hospital. She stopped by the kitchen to grab a beer and walked out to the back patio.

Chris was sitting in one of the chairs, "Hey, how was your leave?"

Jamie couldn't help the blush that crept up her face, "It was good." Good was an understatement. Jamie and John got to hang out, relax and have tons of sex, it was perfect.

"Earth to Kirk."

She shook her head clear of the memories, "Sorry. Leave was very… _relaxing_."

Chris chuckled, "So, that's what the kids are calling it these days."

Jamie shrugged and sat next to him, "I gotta find you a woman. What are you gonna do without me?"

He smiled, "I did fine before you came tearing through my life like a tornado. I'll live without you, kid."

Jamie took a drink and looked at him before addressing the elephant between them, "How are you dealing with all the extra stuff you know about me?" They hadn't had much chance to talk about it in the last seven months and she had a feeling that this was what this chat was about.

Chris gave her a look, "I was pissed at you. I spent three years fighting to keep you in the academy and it turns out that it didn't matter. Barnett and Reed filled me in on some of the stuff you didn't tell me, so I get it. My feelings are hurt but I get it."

Jamie nodded, "You know I would've told you if I could've. Technically, I shouldn't have said anything at all but I couldn't just stand there and let Marcus use us to kill John and start a war."

He nodded, "I know. I got to read some of your file, the real one… I gotta say, it's impressive."

Jamie shrugged, "Just doing my job."

He smiled, "I know. This doesn't change anything; I still love ya, kid."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course you do, I'm awesome. Love you too, old man."

Chris looked at her, "I'm not old."

Jamie laughed, "Keep telling yourself that."


	9. Chapter 9

Stardate 2259.332 (November 27th, 2259)  
McCoy Residence, Ellijay, Georgia, Earth

Thanksgiving at the McCoy's was one of Jamie's favorite things, ever. Bones' mama was the sweetest woman in the known universe and man, that woman can cook. Over the last few years, she's even imparted some of her wisdom on Jamie. This year there were more people at the house than there used to be. In addition to Bones bringing Carol and Jamie bringing John, Pike and the senior staff were all invited. Surprisingly, they all said yes.

When the group of officers showed up, Mama didn't disappoint. She hugged every last single one of them like they grew up there, including Spock. Jamie and Uhura took holos because no one would ever believe them if they didn't. "Get in here, ya'll."

The group trekked into the house, "Leo!" Jamie smiled as Bones' uncles, sister, and brother-in-law all welcomed him home.

Joanna practically jumped on him, "Hey, daddy."

He smiled, "Hey, daughter."

"Jamison, if you don't get your butt over here, girl."

She chuckled, "Hey, Uncle Jacks." Jackson was Bones' uncle on his father's side. Even though David McCoy died years ago, Jackson was always with his brother's family for the holidays. The older version of her best friend wrapped her in one of his amazing bear hugs.

"When are you gonna ditch that damn fool nephew of mine and run away with me?"

She laughed, "Uncle Jacks, I love you but I'm taken and not by Len."

She pointed at John and watched as Jackson McCoy sized him up, "So, you're the man that loves our Jim." The room became deathly silent.

John smiled, "Yes, sir, I do."

Jackson smirked, "She may not be a McCoy by blood but she's still a McCoy. Anything happens to her and we'll come find you. We clear?"

John nodded, "Crystal clear, sir."

The two men looked at each other for another moment before Jacks smiled, "Alright then, welcome." He pulled John into a hug and the tension lifted.

Donna, Bones' sister, hugged her, "I was worried about that one. How are you doin', sweetie?"

Jamie smiled, "I'm good. Better than good." She looked over at John, who smiled at her as he picked up Joanna. She was really good.

* * *

"Alright, ya'll settle down. Now, I gotta lay down the rules for the new folks. Every year, we go around the table and say what we're thankful for. It doesn't have to be big, it just has to be something. I'll start us off. I'm thankful that you are all here and safe." Jacks sat down and looked at his sister-in-law.

"I'm thankful for my children. The ones I gave birth to and the ones I didn't." Jamie smiled as Eleanora smiled at her.

Bones was next, "I'm thankful that we're all not dead. And that Jim is toned down the crazy, even if only a little." Everyone at the table laughed.

"Hey. Not nice, Bonesy."

He shrugged as Carol went next, "Despite what my father did to many of you, you all still welcomed me with open arms and for that I'm thankful."

Donna was thankful for new friends. Fred, her husband, was thankful that she was happy and for football, which earned a laugh. Bones' other uncle, Edward, was thankful for his sister. "I'm thankful that I can still walk, we weren't so sure last year," Pike looked at Bones and the two men nodded at each other.

"I am thankful for Nyota," a bunch of 'awe's went up at Spock's words.

"I'm thankful for you, too, Spock."

Gaila rolled her eyes, "You guys are so annoyingly cute… but I love it. I'm thankful for all the love."

Chapel chuckled, "I'm thankful for someone else to deal with Doctor Grumpy." Everyone laughed as Carol kissed Bones on the cheek.

Sulu rolled his eyes, "I'm thankful that I got such kickass friends."

Jamie chuckled, "Says the space ninja."

He smiled at that, "You know it, sis."

Chekov took a breath, "I am zhankful zhat we are all together." He gave a big smile and looked to the engineer next to him.

"I'm just thankful that the Enterprise is fixed." Scotty and Jamie fist-bumped over Joanna's head.

"I'm thankful for daddy and grandma and Aunt Jim and Aunt Donna and Miss Carol and Mister Spock and Uncle Fred and Uncle John and… well everyone, except Clay." They all laughed at the smallest McCoy. Clay was her mother's new husband and none of them liked him very much, including Joanna. Jamie was next.

She looked around the table, "Someone once said that friends are the family we choose for ourselves. Looking around this table, I can't help but be thankful that I chose well."

Bones rolled his eyes, "Getting sappy on us, kid."

She just shrugged, "Calling like it is, Bones." He nodded and looked at John, who was last.

The man next to her smiled, "I am thankful for this wonderful woman next to me and I'll be even more thankful if she married me."

"What?"

Everyone looked at them as John sat a small box on the table in front of her, got out of his chair a knelt next to her.

"Do you remember when we were younger and you went on that dumb date with Percy?"

She nodded, "After I got home we sat on my front steps eating my aunt's cookies and talked for hours about nothing."

He smiled, "I told you then that there was no one like you. I mean that just as much today as I did fourteen years ago, maybe even more. You are extraordinary and I don't deserve you, but if you let me, I'd like to spend the rest of my life showing you just how amazing you are. Jamison Tabitha Kirk, I have loved you since the moment I saw you and I will spend the rest of my life loving you. Will you marry me?" Her heart was gonna beat out of her chest but she knew the answer in an instant.

"Yes." He kissed her as soon as the word came out of her mouth.

She doesn't know who hugged her but she felt a bunch of arms around her, the only ones she could identify were Joanna's because they were so small. Mama smiled, "The ring. Let's see it, sweetie." Jamie opened the box and took a breath. It wasn't big but it was gorgeous; a princess cut sapphire with tiny diamonds along the platinum band.

"Johnny."

He chuckled, "I know you don't wear a lot of jewelry but I knew the second I saw it that it belonged to you." He took the engagement ring from the box and placed it on her finger.

Jamie looked around the table, "Ya'll set me up."

Gaila giggled, "Sure did, sweetheart. Maybe you'll let us plan it for you."

Jamie chuckled, "You know I don't do pomp and circumstance. I'd rather keep it small. You, my gorgeous green friend, don't know the meaning of laid back." They all laughed.

Pike looked at her, "Could always do it tonight." She knew what he meant but she wasn't going down that rabbit hole.

Jamie took a breath, "Can we eat dinner first? I kinda spend all year waiting for Thanksgiving with the McCoy family." A cheer went up and that ended the wedding talk for the moment.

"You wait for Thanksgiving here, lass?"

She nodded, "I even have my own room. Just you wait, Scotty, you'll want to move in by the time we're done."

* * *

Everyone was talking a thousand miles an hour. Jamie and John just looked at each other and tried to keep up. "Alright, that's it," Pike silenced the room, "You two, stand up." They did as ordered and Pike smirked, "John, do you take her to be your wife?"

He smiled, "Yes, sir."

Pike looked at Jamie, "Jim, do you take him to be your husband?"

Jamie nodded, "Yes, sir."

Her friend smiled, "By the authority granted to me as an Admiral in the Federation Starfleet, I pronounce you as married. Congratulations." He pulled Jamie into a hug before he shook John's hand and stepped away from them, "Now you can kiss her." Everyone just sat there stunned as John did what he was told.

"Did Pike just…?" Gaila asked.

Bones chuckled, "Yep. Too bad they still have the paperwork."

Uhura shook her head, "Harrison asked me for those forms weeks ago. It just needs Jamie, Pike and witness signatures. The Admiral is signing off on it, right now." They all glanced at Pike, Spock and Scotty who were all signing forms. The Vulcan stood and handed a PADD to their captain. She signed where he instructed her to sign.

"So, you've been planning this for weeks?" Jamie whispered towards John.

He chuckled, "Yes, I have."

* * *

Stardate 2260.04 (January 4th, 2260)  
Captain Jamison Kirk and Commander John Harrison's Apartment, Mission Bay, San Francisco, Earth

"Happy birthday to you." Kiss. "Happy birthday to you." Kiss. "Happy birthday, Misses Harrison." Kiss. "Happy birthday to you." Kiss. "Good morning, beautiful."

She chuckled, "Hi. It's early." He pressed a gentle kiss on her shoulder, "Zero-five nineteen to be exact, birthday girl."

She turned in his arms, "You're not gonna let me sleep in, are you?" Jamie already knew the answer to that question. John pulled her into a kiss; his hands roamed her body. "Is this what I get for sleeping without anything on?" He nodded as he pressed her into the bed with his body and continued to press kisses along her neck. "Hmm, Johnny." He was trying to drive her crazy. Jamie looked at him; she could see the love dancing in his eyes. "Is this my birthday present?"

He chuckled as he slid into her, "Of course not. I have other plans for that. Unfortunately, you have to wear clothes." They moved slowly, watching each other as the tension built. His hands never stopped caressing her skin. He began to pick up speed, she was so close to falling apart, and he was pushing her further over the edge.

"John…" He locked his eyes with hers and changed the angle of his movements. She didn't even realize how close she was until the wave pulled them both under.

He touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. Jamie didn't want to move, "I wish I could stay here all day."

John kissed her nose, "You aren't the only one. But we have things to do, Captain." Her birthday brought with it a few mandatory appearances at various functions and a conversation or two with a reporter. Since the ship was ready to go, they were going to rechristen it and soon, the Enterprise would be on her way to uncharted space. Jamie was thinking about the endgame because she really didn't feel like doing anything for her birthday… except her husband.

"Well, we're awake. What should we do?"

John smirked, "Oh, we're not even close to finished, beautiful."

* * *

Stardate 2260.04 (January 4th, 2260)  
Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us." She looked out at her crew and smiled, "But that's not who we are. We are here today to rechristen the USS Enterprise, and to honor those who lost their lives, nearly one year ago. When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain's oath. Words I didn't appreciate at the time. Now, I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were, and who we must be again. And those words... Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of Starship Enterprise. Her mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilization. To boldly go where no one has gone before."

Eleven months. She couldn't believe it when she stopped to think about all the differences in her life between that mission on Nibiru and standing here in front of all these people. They had a long way to go. Marcus had a lot of power and SI was still trying to figure it all out. Yuki helped as much as she could and ended up working with Admiral Reed's people. The Enterprise was ready. The crew was ready. And for the first time, the Captain was ready.

* * *

Stardate 2260.05 (January 5th, 2260)  
Kelvin Memorial Wall, Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth

"What are we…?" She stopped mid-sentence. "Johnny… I can't."

He smiled, "Who said that we're here for you? Maybe, I want to pay my respects to the man that gave his life so that I could have you in mine. And I'm not the only one." She looked over his shoulder to find a good chunk of her officers standing at the wall.

"Two days of this, guys?"

Bones shook his head, "One day. That thing yesterday was to make the brass look good. Today is about my best friend's dad."

She chuckled as he pulled her into a hug, "I don't think anybody ever thought to give you a funeral for him, so we're fixing that."

She looked at Spock as Bones let her go, "You too?"

He nodded, "You are my friend." She wrapped her arms around his waist and, surprisingly, he hugged her back. Jamie didn't let him go as they all turned their attention to Pike.

"I remember the day the Kelvin was destroyed. For years, I kept thinking that George Kirk was the kind of guy I wanted to be. As I got older, I realized that what made him a hero wasn't how he died, it was what he died for. There are things in this life that none of us can change and there are moments that define us all. Most people only see a man who saved his crew but I choose to see a man who saved his family. To see a man defined by why he gave his life. Jamie is so much like her father. I look at all of you and I know she wouldn't hesitate to die for every single one of us. I just hope that George keeps watching her back. God knows it's a full time job." Everyone laughed. "Anyway… I just wanted to say Godspeed, George. Don't worry, we'll all keep an eye on your little girl."

She let go of Spock to hug the Admiral, "Thanks, Chris."

He chuckled, "Your husband did this, I just showed up."

* * *

Stardate 2260.09 (January 9th, 2260)  
Bridge, USS Enterprise, Dock 27-Delta, Starbase One

"How the hell am I supposed to work with you on the bridge? Wearing that damn uniform dress, no less?"

Jamie shrugged, "I told you to think about it but you were all like 'I'm in.' Now, you just gotta deal, Johnny. If it makes you feel better, you can pin me to a wall in our quarters later." John chuckled as the turbolift opened onto the bridge.

"Keptin on zhe bridge." Jamie smiled at Chekov before looking at Sulu, who was in her chair.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

He nodded, "Yes, ma'am. You know, Captain Sulu has a nice ring to it."

Jamie shrugged, "Yea, but which Sulu? I heard that your sister is doing some impressive things."

The helmsman stood, "You know better. I got the cooler gig. The chair's all yours, Captain." Jamie laughed as she walked past her seat to where her best friend was chatting up Carol.

"So, Bones, what brings you to my bridge?" He looked at her and Carol laughed. "Waiting, Lieutenant Commander McCoy."

He huffed, "Seriously, Jim? I'm already kicking myself for agreeing to this. Five years in space, God help me."

Jamie and Carol looked at each other.Jamie sighed, "He's lucky we love him."

Carol nodded, "Yes, ma'am, he is. How did you live with him for so long?"

Bones looked between them. "Jim, don't you dare answer that."

She laughed harder and smiled, "I'll tell you later. Don't worry, Bones, it's gonna be fun."

He rolled his eyes, "Last time you said that, Spock almost died in a volcano, we jumped off a cliff into an ocean and we broke the prime directive."

Jamie shrugged, "Was still fun."

"Engineering to bridge."

Jamie smirked before answering the comm, "Scotty. How are we?"

He chuckled, "You know how it goes, Captain. Our core is ready to get outta here."

Jamie smirked, "That's what I like to hear."

She cut the communication and looked at her tactical officer, "Mister Harrison?"

He smiled, "We've been granted our clearances to leave, Captain." Uhura notified her that dock control has given them the go ahead to pull out of the station.

"Where should we go, Spock?"

He stood next to her chair, "As a mission of this duration has never been attempted, I defer to your good judgment, Captain."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "Now you trust my judgment. Sulu, take us out."

He nodded, "Aye, Captain."


End file.
